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Music and Movies Could Trigger Mobile Malware

Posted by timothy on from the seeds-of-your-own-destruction dept.

mask.of.sanity writes "Lights, sounds and magnetic fields can be used to activate malware on phones, new research has found. The lab-style attacks defined in a paper (PDF) used pre-defined signals hidden in songs and TV programmes as a trigger to activate embedded malware. Malware once activated would carry out programmed attacks either by itself or as part of a wider botnet of mobile devices."

5 of 88 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A good reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A better reason to ignore the torrent of mobile malware FUD being spewed by all the Windows AV vendors.

    They're terrified because their business model involves being parasites bandaiding a virus ridden OS that's now failing in the market. Like fleas without a dog, hey're desperate to find a new host, but since modern mobile OSs aren't as colander-like as Windows, they're being forced further and further into snake-oil realms.

    This story deserves nothing but ridicule.

  2. Lame by Alsee · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Lame article.

    If you're already infected by malware, that malware can sit there and wait to do stuff any time it wants. Not exactly a big surprise.

    -

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    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
    1. Re:Lame by gl4ss · · Score: 5, Insightful

      and if you have malware doing constant audio/light analyzing then at least you don't need to worry about it malwareing about too long.

      because you'll run out of battery pretty fast.

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      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    2. Re:Lame by niftydude · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If you're already infected by malware, that malware can sit there and wait to do stuff any time it wants. Not exactly a big surprise.

      -

      Yes, the word "research" seems to be used rather loosely in that article.

      Any input into a smartphone can be used to launch any app listening for it. This could be gps coords, barometric pressure, direction from the built in compass...

      Well it is University of Alabama, perhaps we should be just grateful that they are studying something other than intelligent design.

      --
      You can never know everything, and part of what you do know will always be wrong. Perhaps even the most important part.
  3. Re:A good reason by some+old+guy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You, me, and a few thousand professionals and "power users" got your message years ago. What was true in 1995 remains true. System integrity is the owner's responsibility.

    One thing that hasn't been fixed is the millions of teenage girls, grandmothers, and neckbeards clicking on every widget that pops on a screen, and falling for every "fix your PC" gimmick they see.

    It all boils down to, "You can't fix stupid."

    --
    Scruting the inscrutable for over 50 years.