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Viruses Find A New Host: Cell Phones
An anonymous reader writes "A NYTimes article (free reg) describes the dangers posed by viruses as 3G and text-messaging become more common, inluding an incident in '01 where numerous phones in Japan began calling 110 (equivalent to 911 in the U.S.). Wired mentions 13M vulnerable phones in Japan alone." (And that was a few years ago.)
New York Times Article Registration Free
The internet wasn't designed with security in mind , but these new 3G/4G phones can be.
Isn't this a chance to do things right , rather than repeat the design oversights of the past?
The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.
Japan should charge the phone company for each fake call to recover costs.
If companies are held financially liable it will force them to do a better job of programming and testing software.
Antivirus software makers did this
New year Resolution: Don't change sig this year
As cell phones became more powerful (and more like PDA's and computers) this was bound to happen. Unfortunately, with the adoption of GSM in the United States, that means the virus in question can be spread to US phones with the same vulnerability, as 911 is equivalent to 110 and 08 on most GSM carriers.
This is also a small part of the reason that the push was made for Java enabled phones, as there is less of a security risk (albeit still a small one) in running Java apps due to the construction of the language.
There is a somewhat heartening end to this story though. Sprint and other wireless carriers provision signed updates to phone firmware all the time over the air. Most times these updates include communications updates for new versions of software running in the MTSO or in the towers, but this sets a welcome precedent: Security updates can be pushed out to all phones of a particular model when they are first released. This way, a carrier will have no customers lingering months or years behind on updates (a la Windows XP and Windows Update) because the customers do not have to have the presence of mind to update manually, nor do they get to pick and choose what updates they want and what updates they don't.
If a virus can make a phone dial the emergency services, it can presumably also make the phone call the premium-rate phone number the virus writer set up in a foreign country. This could get nasty.
Oh what a virus writers dream. A whole house on the fritz.
30% Troll, 50% Underrated, 10% Interesting
Score:5, Troll
Modern IT works like a natural system.
As soon as there is a host that can be infected, in quantities of relative interest, viruses will evolve that can parasite it.
Mobile phones are safe only so long as they are too stupid to act as carries for self-reproducing code.
A good reason IMHO to spurn "smart" phones.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
DoCoMo blocks about 55 percent of the one billion text messages that reach its servers each day because of suspicious return addresses or attachments. Another 26 percent of those messages are blocked by DoCoMo users who have programmed their handsets to turn back unwanted mail or spam.
Looks like the state of the cell phone is getting close to the dire state of the net in Japan.
And the 3G revolution is now coming our way.
Be afraid. Be very afraid. Especially those with a pay-for-incoming-SMS/e-mails (or pay-for-received-data) scheme.
What kind of signs should we be looking for, like when you tell someone not to open .exe's. I wouldn't even know where to begin.
Also, isn't all of the traffic on cell phones documented? Shouldn't the companies be able to find the culprit fairly easily?
Even worse, your Nutri-matic drink dispenser could start producing beverages that are almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.
I ain't evil, I'm just good looking.
...is a phone to make calls!
WTF does this have to do with a virus problem?
Oh, I know it. That lame ass crap I never used on my stupid phone... like games and worse crap they build into phones these days... are the reason.
Maybe if there wouldn't be the *STUPID* need for a fucking OPERATING SYSTEM that can play games and CRAP in your phone you wouldn't have problems with viruses?
As long asd we like to bloat simple things with shit, such stuff keeps happen!