more on First mobile phone virus?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Romain Francoise <romain () orebokech com>
Date: June 18, 2004 12:24:07 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: First mobile phone virus?

Hi Dave,

About mobile phone security: Integralis issued a press release/advisory
warning users against Bluetooth identity theft; in a nutshell attackers
can exploit vulnerabilities in Bluetooth phones to send and receive SMS
messages illegally via the victim's phone, and use this to gain access
to Wifi hotspots that use SMS to send login info to the customers (you
send a message, you get a login to access the hotspot).  Attackers thus
gain free and anonymous access to the Internet for whatever evil
purpose, and communications are charged on the victim's phone bill (and
of course, all mischief done on the Internet is done under the victim's
identity).

The attack takes 30 seconds to 2 minutes so you don't even have a chance
to notice that your phone is being used without your consent--the lesson
here is that you should never leave Bluetooth enabled by default,
especially in public places.

PR: 
http://www.integralis.co.uk/about_us/press_releases/2004/150604SA.html

Cheers,

--
Romain Francoise <romain () orebokech com> | I used to think there is no
it's a miracle -- http://orebokech.com/ | future left at all.

David Farber <dave () farber net> writes:

> Begin forwarded message:

> From: EEkid () aol com
> Date: June 16, 2004 7:45:43 AM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: First mobile phone virus?

> First mobile phone virus discovered
>  From correspondents in Paris
> June 16, 2004

> THE first ever computer virus that can infect mobile phones has been
> discovered, anti-virus software developers said today, adding that up
> until now it has had no harmful effect.

> The French unit of the Russian security software developer Kaspersky
> Labs said that that virus - called Cabir - appears to have been
> developed by an international group specialising in creating viruses
> which try to show "that no technology is reliable and safe from their
> attacks".

> Cabir infects the Symbian operating system that is used in several 
> makes
> of mobiles, notably the Nokia brand, and propagates through the new
> bluetooth wireless technology that is in several new mobile phones.

> If the virus succeeds in penetrating the phone, it writes the
> inscription 'Caribe' on the screen and is then activated every time 
> that
> the phone is turned on.

> It is able to scan for phones that are also using the Bluetooth
> technology and is able to send a copy of itself to the first handset
> that it finds.

> According to the anti-virus software developer F-Secure, the discovery
> of Cabir is proof that the technologies are now available to create
> viruses for mobile phones and that they are now known to the writers of
> computer viruses.

> Anti-virus experts have been warning for months that mobile phone
> viruses are set to multipy, given the increasingly diverse uses of
> mobile phones.

> Agence France-Presse



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