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DoS Vulnerability On Nokia Phones

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the only-a-matter-of-time dept.

Matt_Bennett writes "According to this report from CNN, it is possible to send a SMS (Short Message Service) message to certain Nokia GSM phones, in particular the Nokia 7110, which will cause it to lock up. At this point, they are unsure if it is possible from an email-to-SMS gateway. The phone has to have its battery removed and replaced to return to normal operation." "Sorry I couldn't call you back, my phone was haxx0r3d." We laugh, but as personal electronics get better, we rely on them more... and at the same time, they become more complex: the potential security holes grow. Its kinda creapy.

5 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Stupid and needless technology by quonsar · · Score: 5

    Who are the geniuses that think these things up?

    My guess would be Hanna-Barbara. We're all just bit players in a big Jetsons episode.

    "I will gladly pay you today, sir, and eat up

    --

    Sacred cows make the best burgers.

  2. Second time... by zyzko · · Score: 4

    This is already second time this happens to Nokia. My roommate's Nokia 5110 had originally buggy firmware (which he later upgraded for obvious reasons...) which locked the phone if someone sent him an SMS-message with 160 dots. The phone locked up completely, only removing the battery brought it back to life.

  3. Filter at SMS gateway? by Jacco+de+Leeuw · · Score: 4
    Since an SMS gateway is always required, can't these messages be filtered by the operator?

    Jacco
    ---
    # cd /var/log

    --
    -------
    Warning: Slashdot may contain traces of nuts.
  4. The first of many I think by mav[LAG] · · Score: 4
    We never learn. The more complex a system becomes, the more possible paths through that system there are and so the more bugs and potential security holes there are. Placing more and more technology in smaller and smaller places isn't going to be as wonderful as we think unless security is taken seriously from the very very beginning.

    I'm willing to bet that today's Nokias are more powerful that the PCs of 15 years ago. What kind of security problems will we be seeing from phones in 5 years time?

    --
    --- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
  5. malformed message by kootch · · Score: 4

    so it's a malformed message that causes the computer to freeze up. big deal. they're already fixing the problem on the server side so that a malformed message can't be routed through the server. and if it happens to you, you simply pop out the battery and pop it back in. oh darn. that's really difficult. it's not a hack. it's not even a DoS attack. it's simply a fuckup. it wouldn't be all that hard for the companies that make the SMS server software to fix the problem. (that's more than I can say for today's companies that get DoS attacks and can't do a damn thing to prevent them)