Third Party Applications on the iPhone

apple.com
October 17, 2007

Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target...

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Application of the Week -- SMobile Security Shield

www.s60.com
October 9, 2007

SMobile Security Shield protects your S60 3rd Edition device from unwanted intrusion coming from any direction, including the Internet, short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), e-mail, and direct downloads. It has three different components to accomplish that mission: VirusGuard, to scan for malware, Point Guard, to provide call and message filtering, and the SMobile Firewall, to provide filtering and blocking on a wide variety of media...

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Supplying Smart Phone Armor
By Martha McKay
NorthJersey.com
September 27, 2007

If you believe Rick Roscitt, some very bad stuff might happen to your smart phone.

In the same way viruses attack computers, malicious software can travel across unprotected wireless networks and worm its way into the mobile gadgets we depend on, Roscitt says.

"Nobody would go out and spend $1,800 on a laptop and not put security software on it," he said. "Well, these devices don't have anything," he said pointing to an array of smart phones on a conference table in his Fort Lee office.

Roscitt is chairman and CEO of SMobile Systems Inc., an Ohio-based company that sells software designed to keep those gadgets safe from viruses and hackers...

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News Focus: Your handphone will tell on you
By Nurris Ishak and R.S. Kamini
NST online
August 20, 2007

He was cocooned in a hotel room with his mistress, blissfully unaware that the game was up.

When he returned home here on Monday, his wife was waiting — with the divorce papers.

The man, who thought he had covered his tracks, had not reckoned with software which can hack into mobile phones.

His wife had enlisted the help of a "black hacker" to listen to her husband’s intimate conversations with his mistress.

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Mobile viruses evolving beyond just 'nuisance'
By Andrew R. Hickey, News Editor
SearchMobileComputing.com
August 2, 2007

Mobile viruses are now nearly 400 strong in number and are expected to multiply to roughly 1,000 by year's end, but it's not the number of viruses out there that should have enterprises concerned, it's the type of malware that's sparking fear.

According to George Tuvell, CTO of SMobile Systems, a designer of mobile security applications, the number of viruses may be startling on its own, but it's what these security threats set out to do that is a real eye-opener...

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Nokia's Net More Than Doubles On Strong Sales, Bigger Market Share
By Daniel Thomas
The Wall Street Journal
August 2, 2007

LONDON -- Nokia Corp., the world's largest mobile phone maker, Thursday surprised the market by more than doubling its second-quarter net profit, as it took an estimated 38% share of the global phone market.

Although analysts had expected a rise in revenues through greater mobile phone sales, lower profits were predicted as a result of its push into lower-priced emerging markets and costs related to the setting up of its Nokia Siemens Networks joint-venture...

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iPhone Flaw Lets Hackers Take Over, Security Firm Says
By John Schwartz
The New York Times
July 23, 2007

A team of computer security consultants say they have found a flaw in Apple’s wildly popular iPhone that allows them to take control of the device.

The researchers, working for Independent Security Evaluators, a company that tests its clients’ computer security by hacking it, said that they could take control of iPhones through a WiFi connection or by tricking users into going to a Web site that contains malicious code. The hack, the first reported, allowed them to tap the wealth of personal information the phones contain...

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Cell phone users urged to install anti-virus software
By Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter
gulfnews.com
July 17, 2007

Dubai: Etisalat has urged cell phone users to install special software on their phones to prevent them from becoming infected with viruses.

The telecommunications company has also urged cell phone users to be extra vigilant before they open applications or attachments sent to their phones.

The warnings come following the return of the CommWarrior virus, which was widely reported by UAE cell phone users early last year.

Ahmad Bin Ali, Etisalat's Vice-President for Corporate Communications, said: "We encourage people to put anti-virus software on their cell phone...

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Arrest over phone virus
Correspondents in Madrid
June 25, 2007

SPANISH police have arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of creating and spreading a virus that affected more than 115,000 high-end mobile phones.

The man was detained in the eastern coastal city of Valencia following an investigation that lasted over seven months, police said in a statement.

It is the first time that an alleged creator of a virus that targeted mobile phones had been arrested in Spain, the statement said.

The virus struck Bluetooth-enabled phones that run on the Symbian operating system and it was disguised as messages claiming to contain erotic images, sports information or virus protection software.

It caused millions of euros in damage to both the owners of the mobile phones as well as to mobile services providers, the police statement said.

http://australianit.news.com.au/

New mobile security threats emerge
By Ira Brodsky
Network World, 06/12/07

Mobile phone capabilities are growing by leaps and bounds — and so are mobile security threats.

Ten years ago, mobile phone subscribers and operators only had to worry about two security threats: eavesdropping and fraud. Most cell phones operated on reallocated UHF-TV channels using conventional FM radio technology. It was ridiculously easy (though illegal) to tap conversations and pluck phone identities off the air to make free international calls. Fraud was a huge problem for cell phone operators.

Those problems largely dissipated as the industry converted to digital radio technology. The 3G technologies being deployed today by AT&T (formerly Cingular Wireless) and Verizon Wireless make hacking cell phones over the air even more difficult and expensive.

Unfortunately, as mobile phones become more capable, a constellation of new security threats have emerged.

A growing percentage of mobile phones can download user applications and content over the air. That means they can also download viruses and spyware. Bluetooth is becoming a standard feature on mobile phones, and handsets with Wi-Fi capability are on the way. These short-range radio technologies are a potential backdoor for harmful code. Flash memory cards create another entrance to phones that used to have no windows or doors.

According to SMobile Systems, a company specializing in mobile security, there are more than 400 mobile malware threats, predicted to exceed 1,000 by the year-end. Most are viruses, but mobile spyware is on the rise...

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SMobile Snags Customer in Germany
By Monica Alleven
WirelessWeek - May 07, 2007

SMobile Systems, based in Columbus, Ohio, says it has entered into a partnership with Vodafone D2 to equip Vodafone's German subscribers with anti-virus and anti-spam protection on their mobile devices.

The product is branded "Security," powered by SMobile Systems. Initially, the security application is available as a download through the Vodafone live! Portal, sold as a premium service to end-users, according to Neil Book, president of SMobile. The plan is to have the software pre-installed on two Symbian and two Windows Mobile devices, he says...

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SMobile Offers Security for Wireless Networks
George Walsh
May 7, 2007

Computer viruses are bad enough but now it seems that those bad little bugs are attacking our mobile devices. SMobile Systems just announced the launch of Network Shield, which offers anti-virus; content, URL and image filtering; and anti-spam capabilities for multimedia messaging (MMS) and downloadable content on wireless carrier networks. Network Shield extends SMobile's suite of mobile device security solutions to the network, delivering a solution that protects against mobile viruses, spam, and other threats, from the device to the network...

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