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Vipin V. Nair

Virus attacks on mobile phones. No happy thought to begin the new year on, but the menace could well become very real in the near future.

THESE days we don't dare open e-mails from unknown persons, do we? Even those sent by friends are subjected to scrutiny before we download attachments as the threat of virus attacks makes us paranoid.

The year 2005 witnessed a plethora of virus attacks of various magnitudes that has added to the fear psychosis of computer users across the world.

So, is the same kind of apocalypse waiting to happen with our mobile phones? Incidents of mobile phone viruses doing the rounds have started to pop up, but the technology world says it is not yet time to panic.

The first mobile phone virus was detected in June 2004, and since then more variants of the same have been found. Named `Cabir,' this virus would affect phones running the Symbian Series 60 operating system.

It contaminates another phone by travelling through the Bluetooth frequency. Unlike a computer virus, Cabir was not capable of spreading on its own since the recipient had to accept its installation on the phone. And even if this takes place, Cabir was easy to remove.

Actually, Cabir was more of `proof of concept', which only a handful of anti-virus firms received. Nevertheless, many experts now say that some latest developments could make the mobile phone viruses more dangerous in the days to come.

The source code of the Cabir virus is apparently available on the Internet. Recently two new versions of the virus appeared - Cabir H and Cabir I - and these are more harmful in nature compared to their predecessor.

While the previous virus would spread only one phone per reboot, the new avatars can contaminate an unlimited number of phones per reboot, according to F-Secure, the Finland-based antivirus company that discovered them.

F-Secure says this discovery indicates that their source code could be available on the Net for others to develop newer, lethal progeny.

Companies such as F-Secure have already started to offer anti-virus software solutions for mobile phones.

Elisa Corporation, a Finnish telecom operator is offering wireless antivirus solutions to its smartphone customers. Elisa's subscribers can download the antivirus programme directly to the phone.

NTT DoCoMo, a Japanese telecom company, is selling phones with built-in anti-virus software.

The evolution of mobile pones into minicomputer-like devices would further the growth of viruses and other forms of attacks on them. Mobile phones today are tools to play games, listen to music and log onto the Net, than just connecting with others.

"The security challenges in the mobile environment are similar to the problems we have encountered in the PC world," says F-Secure.

It says that in future, new attacks such as Trojan horse in games, screensavers and other applications could occur, leading to problems such as false billing, unwanted disclosure of information and loss of data etc.

Well, when we get there, that could be a real scary situation.

As of today, mobile phone viruses are a menace confined to laboratories of anti-virus software makers. But the `best' brains in the cyber criminal world have already started to think of how to go about wreaking havoc using your mobile. Anyway, don't let this ruin a great start to a brand new year.

vipin@thehindu.co.in

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