The Hindu Business Line : `High-end mobiles more vulnerable to virus attacks'

THREATS to mobile devices, PDAs, mobile phones and wireless technologies are in their infancy, but the possibility of these devices being attacked by viruses and Trojans looms large as the uptake of these devices expands.Highlighting the vulnerability of handheld devices to such attacks, Capt Raghu Raman, CEO of Mahindra Special Services Group (MSSG), told Business Line that mobile technology has, over the years, evolved from a chip-based one to that of hybrid systems. The growing use of platforms such as Windows, Linux and Java on mobile devices has increased the risk of infections spreading to desktop computers, he said.

``If people start using their mobile phones for accessing sensitive information and to download games, the chances of losing the data is more when malicious games emerge and take control of the mobile phone itself. At present, the high-end mobile phone user penetration is not high. But there have been increasing cases of high-end phone (those with MP3 viewer, camera, PDA synchronisation with Outlook Express etc.) users losing their data,'' Capt Raman said.

"To ensure that the data is not lost, you will have to take a backup and store it off-site,'' he said, when asked how the data could be protected.

The CEO of MSSG said the vulnerability of mobile devices to malicious attacks was larger than the desktop PCs. "The threat to mobile devices and networks will escalate as worms spread by Bluetooth and wi-fi wireless transmission methods.''

As the features of the mobile phone get enhanced, be cautious. "Do not get devices with features that you may not need, for the high-end mobile handset is more vulnerable to such attacks," Capt Raman said.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Award for 6 Sun Micro products

`High-end mobiles more vulnerable to virus attacks'

VSNL UK affiliate starts wholesale voice services

Hutch Telugu service

Freescale plans ramp-up here

Mastek picks Chennai for second centre

MS India forays into business applications space

Dubai Internet City keen on AP project

ASG launches operations

.in domain latest victim of cybersquatting

Rlys launches Web site for claims

TCS to ramp up training facility