Mobile Security News archives
As cellphone uses grow, so do security options
Filed Under: Mobile Security NewsThursday, December 14th, 2006
Jon Swartz
USA Today
SAN FRANCISCO — Banks and credit card agencies are gearing up security for financial transactions over cellphones and other handheld devices. Aware that a growing number of consumers — especially those under 35 — are comfortable using cellphones as digital wallets, leading financial institutions are concocting mobile-security options to protect them from hackers and cyberthieves.
“Mobile banking is where online banking was a decade ago. It’s starting to take off,” says Richard Crone, a Silicon Valley consultant who follows electronic-payment services. “Cellphones are more ubiquitous than PCs — across ages, incomes, geography — and have become payment instruments. That makes them targets.” A sampling of what’s being offered:
Read more about mobile banking security…
Criminal And Hackers Take Aim At Smartphones
Filed Under: Mobile Security NewsMonday, November 13th, 2006
As mobile devices provide more and easier ways to share information, they’re also providing more opportunities for mischief and theft
Elena Malykhina
Information Week
Smartphones and similar devices increasingly are being used by business professionals to store information, tap into customer accounts, and exchange data with the office. Yet there’s a dark side to this productivity boon: threats to device and data security.
The expanded use of mobile devices has caught the interest of criminals and malicious hackers, and several proof-of-concept mobile viruses have emerged in recent months. The growth of Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 in the device market also creates new security concerns.
Read more about smartphone security…
Avanquest UK To Launch Virusguard From SMobile
Filed Under: Mobile Security NewsWednesday, October 18th, 2006
Shawn Lunn
Irish Dev
Avanquest UK, a leading developer and publisher of business and consumer software for the global PC market worldwide, has launched VirusGuard, a unique anti-virus product specifically for mobile and smart phones developed by SMobile Systems, innovators in mobile security solutions for virtually all mobile phone devices.
Read more about Avanquest and SMobile…
Windows CE is extremely vulnerable, says Kaspersky
Filed Under: Mobile Security NewsWednesday, October 11th, 2006
IT Observer
Internet security company, Kaspersky Lab, highlights the vulnerabilities of mobile operating systems in the second part of its ‘Mobile Malware Evolution’ report, out today.
Written by Aleks Gostev, Senior Virus Analyst at Kaspersky Lab, the report examines the impact of vulnerabilities within Windows CE and Symbian mobile operating systems on the evolution of mobile malware.
The report shows that nearly all the major virus epidemics over the fast few years have been caused by vulnerabilities in Windows and Gostev points out that there are only two ways for remote malicious users to penetrate a potential victim’s system: by exploiting the human factor through social engineering; or by exploiting software coding errors. These same principles apply to mobile devices.
Read more about Symbian and Windows vulnerabilities…
New Mobile Threats Make it Crucial for Operators to Protect Customers
Filed Under: Mobile Security NewsSunday, October 1st, 2006
Wireless Developer Network
SMiShing, the latest threat to mobile users, was officially christened recently following a number of attacks. SMiShing is the mobile text message cousin of computer phishing attacks, where users are tricked into handing over valuable private information or persuaded to go to fake websites where spyware and other malicious programmes can be downloaded.
However, mobile spam and viruses present distinct threats from their internet-based cousins and require a different approach to prevent and control them argues Chris Newton-Smith, LogicaCMG Telecoms, and operators have a big role to play in protecting subscribers from SMiShing.
Read more about SMiShing…
Mobile Malware Evolution: An Overview, Part 1
Filed Under: Mobile Security NewsSaturday, September 9th, 2006
Alexander Gostev
viruslist.com
June 2006 was a historic month: it marked two years since Kaspersky Lab obtained the first sample of a virus for mobile phones. Although it wasn’t clear initially, we now know that the virus was written by ‘Vallez’, a member of the international group of virus writers known as 29A.
This first sample opened Pandora’s Box. Antivirus companies now have hundreds of Trojans and worms for mobile phones in their collections. The trickle of new malicious programs for Symbian that began in 2004 has become a constant stream which threatens to become a torrent. Every week about ten Trojans with the “SymbOS” prefix are added to our antivirus databases.
Read more about Mobile Malware…
BlackBerry a Juicy Hacker Target
Filed Under: Mobile Security NewsSaturday, August 5th, 2006
Kim Zetter
Wired
A computer security researcher says he’s found an unexpected new path into company networks: the BlackBerry.
Jesse D’Aguanno, a consultant with Praetorian Global, has developed a hacking program that exploits the trust relationship between a BlackBerry and a company’s internal server to hijack a connection to the network. Because the data tunnel between the BlackBerry and the server is encrypted, intrusion detection systems at the perimeter of the network won’t detect the attack.
Read more about BlackBerry exploits…
Vishing Joins Phishing as Security Threat
Filed Under: Mobile Security NewsTuesday, July 11th, 2006
Andy Patrizio
Internet News
Just as Internet surfers have gotten wise to the fine art of phishing, along comes a new scam utilizing a new technology.
Creative thieves are now switching their efforts to “vishing,” which uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones instead of a misdirected Web link to steal user information.
Read more about Vishing…
Text Messaging Used as Malware Lure
Filed Under: Mobile Security NewsFriday, June 23rd, 2006
Ryan Naraine
eWeek
Botnet herders have found a crafty new way to lure computer users to maliciously rigged Web sites—via text messaging on cell phones.
The latest social engineering trick is to send SMS (short messaging service) alerts to mobile phones with a warning that the target has subscribed to an online dating service that racked up expensive charges on cell phone bills.
Read more about SMS fishing…
Know how to fry your mobile viruses?
Filed Under: Mobile Security NewsSaturday, May 20th, 2006
MANISHA SINGH
India Times
Though cellphone viruses are in still in a nascent stage of evolution, they are increasingly becoming a concern and serious threat. Here’s how to keep them at bay.
Read more about cellphone virus protection…
