The Hindu Business Line : Malwares: A looming threat to mobile phones

IF you are planning to buy the latest mobile phone or a Bluetooth-enabled device, ensure that the mobile vendor loads the anti-virus software, lest your new handset crashes due to virus or phishing attack.

The threat of mobile phone malwares, though not pronounced still, is expected to become a nightmare for mobile phone users in the not too distant future. While vulnerability of the mobile device to such attack could be an issue, there appears to be no solution to this as long as mobile vendors provide only repair service for phone functions and not Trojan removal service.

A report from Trend Micro's TrendLabs indicates that mobile malwares not only advanced at a rapid rate in the last three months (in terms of technology and range of infection) but caught the users off-guard.

Trend Micro has, therefore, reminded mobile phone users to handle new mobile threats carefully, as it can cause failure in phone files, contact lists, messages, pictures and even basic phone functions.

In June 2004, TrendLabs noticed that mobile phones were vulnerable to such attacks. SYMBOS_CABIR.A was the first malware noticed and this is said to have spread only via the Bluetooth-enabled devices.

But this proof-of-concept worm failed to enter the mainstream. Six months later, malware began changing along with new technology trends.

The risk faced by phones lacking anti-virus software has gone up, especially for those equipped with Bluetooth.

Mobile malware trends indicate that the wireless domain is currently becoming the battlefield for malicious attacks. The growing threat of mobile malwares shows that such attacks are capable of keeping up with new technologies.

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Malwares: A looming threat to mobile phones