Posted on 02/23/2005 1:20:32 PM PST by TheOtherOne
Cell Phone Virus Strikes Santa Monica
By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer
February 23 -- Santa Monica has become the U.S. port of entry for the first virus capable of spreading over mobile phone networks, according to security experts.
The so-called Cabir virus, developed in a test-tube type setting months ago, infected a pair of wireless phones on display at a Santa Monica retail shop, it was announced over the weekend by F-Secure, a virus protection company.
Now the virus may be on the loose in Santa Monica, since anyone with a phone that uses "Bluetooth" frequency and a Symbian operating platform, may have been infected while passing within 100 yards of the display.
Sprint, Motorola and Nokia are among the companies that manufacture cell phones using those technologies.
"It's like a disease," said Travis Witeveen, North America’s vice president for F-Secure. "If you cough, you could give me the disease, only this time imagine a germ that can go through walls.
“These two phones on display could have infected anyone who walked by," he said.
It is not known how long the virus has been in Santa Monica, and F-Secure has not released the location and identity of the computer store, which has removed the products from display, for fear it could lose business.
Though very few cell phone models use "Bluetooth," such technology may be more widely used in Santa Monica, according to Witeveen.
"These are cutting edge phones adopted by stylish, wealthy urbanites," he said. "I'd definitely say Santa Monica falls into that category."
This is the first reported case in the United States of the Cabir virus, which can drain batteries, delete files and dial expensive numbers, according to news reports.
Though such damage was classified by Witeveen as "minimal," the wireless users may not be so lucky if a stronger worm is released in the future.
"The damage is almost nothing right now," Witeveen said. "What's dangerous is when a virus like this is spread with a more damaging payload in the future."
The virus, according to Witeveen, was first concocted by a group he classified as "hackers," known as A-29, to help mobile technology businesses find weaknesses in their products.
With computer aficionados posting information on the internet describing how to construct such a virus, Cabir was quickly manufactured and has been spreading around the globe, experts said.
According to PC World, “Cabir spreads between mobile phones using a specially formatted Symbian operating system distribution (or SIS) file disguised as a security management utility.
“When the infected file is launched, the mobile phone's screen displays the word ‘Caribe’ and the worm modifies the Symbian operating system so that Cabir is started each time the phone is turned on.
“Once it has infected a mobile phone, Cabir scans for other phones using Bluetooth wireless technology, then sends a copy of itself to the first vulnerable phone it finds,” according to a security expert quoted in PC World.
Short of buying technology to counteract such viruses, Witeveen has advised users with Bluetooth to shut the feature off on their cell phone to avoid infection.
I have no faith in any wired or wireless network.
I am personally thinking I am going to switch to two computers, one that is never online or connected to the Internet.
Both my brother and my mother have bought bluetooth enabled cars in the past few months. I really wonder if the benefits/conveniences outweigh the potential risks.
It's inevitable that any technology that is highly used will be the target of hacking.
The smug Mac users who are immune to all of this should be chiming in and proclaiming their superiority in no time flat.
3...2...1...
By the way...I am a Mac user.
sue - use
spell checker is our friend....
I'm stupid on these things, so I have to ask... What is bluetooth?
I agree.
I am normally the last one to call "there otta be a law!" but this garbage is way, way out of hand. Cybervandals need to be fined, imprisoned, and publicly humiliated. They are ruining the new technology for far too many people. Enough is enough.
He's the fiercest of Priates that e'er sailed the seven seas
In other words, if you use your cell phone for internet, IM, etc. your chances of getting a virus are greater than if you were to just use your phone for making/receiving calls?
I'm not sure I understand all of this tech stuff and I can't imagine accessing email and IM on a dinky little phone.
Any new technology goes through growing pains before it gets stable.
AMEN, BROTHER! That makes two of us!
I see all these slick ads pushing wireless networking technology on everyone, and I want to throw a brick at my TV. "Hey-hey! You want wireless? Well, here's a boot - it's wireless, and it's about to go in your a$$!"
What they don't tell the consumer is how bloody unreliable, insecure, and easily interfered with those wireless connections are.
If you have a wireless router, you cannot have a cordless phone in operation, fluorescent lighting, speakers nearby, or even a microwave oven running. All those devices emit radio waves in about the same frequencies as those used by wireless routers.
I can't tell you how many times I've had people ask me if I thought they should "go wireless".
Every time they ask, I have to laugh and tell them that it's just the latest gimmick by the hardware manufacturers to get them to buy more crap that they don't need, and that they should stick with the good ol' reliable, more secure CAT-5 cable ethernet.
And as far as my cell phone goes, it's a relic from the long-forgotten year 1999 - a sturdy, "black brick" Nokia 5100 model. None of that camera, text messaging, or Blackberry nonsense for me, thank you kindly.
And call me a techno-Luddite, but vacuum-tube guitar amplifiers will ALWAYS sound better than digital.
You know, I was just discussing with one of my colleagues the possiblity that the anti-virus companies might have a covert hand in the creation and distribution of the virus plagues that sweep the Net every couple of months or so. Maybe Symantech's "Black Ops" division.
Kind of like how road contruction contractors use crappy building materials so the roads fall apart after 5 years' use, guaranteeing more work for themselves.
I'm not a conspiracy-minded guy, either. But it's something to think about.
Having a stand-alone computer chip controlling my engine is scary enough, never mind driving around in a vehicle that some socially maladjusted script kiddy can hack at will and take over.
I'd tell them to take those things back and trade them for something less likely to be remotely sabotaged when tooling down the road at 70 MPH.
My condolences. Whatever you do, DO NOT accept any auto-updates, because it will wipe your address and phone books clean, and erase your emails.
Me? I would have thought up a different name.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.