The Finnish security firm F-Secure raised an alarm Monday after someone reported spotting two cell-phones infected with the Cabir virus in a store in Santa Monica, California.
This was the first instance of a mobile-phone virus in the US. Both the infected phones happened to be Nokia models.
So far, the damage by this virus is limited only to battery life. It rapidly drains mobile batteries. Since its creation last summer, it has made its way to the US in at least a dozen variations which infect computer systems several times a year. It is now targetting smartphones which are a combination of handheld computers and cellphones.
Although it currently only drains batteries, smartphone users may soon have more to worry about. The phone hacking incident of the high profile Paris Hilton some days ago is still not forgotten. While surfing on the net, Hilton was shocked to find the contents of her private cellular phone list posted on the internet. These numbers included the private numbers of her rich and famous friends.
The authorities have drawn a blank in investigations into the matter. But the report of finding the Cabir virus on smartphones in California is enough to make users wary.
Besides stealing stored information, hackers can also charge expensive 900 numbers and destroy the phone battery.
The virus transmits itself from phone to phone using the Bluetooth wireless data transfer facility. Multifunction devices, such as smartphones, capable of transmitting files wirelessly and running Symbian operating systems are prime targets. Once the phones are infected, the virus exhausts batteries and interferes with some software applications.
The virus spreads from one to another in a definite range, generally a short distance, like an airport or a shopping mall. This is because Bluetooth has an effective range of about 30 feet.
A spokesperson for F-Secure said although the discovery of Cabir virus in the US was a cause for concern, it’s still not “the end of the world”. Another tech-security expert echoed his views and said a little bit of caution can minimize the threat. Since Bluetooth requires the user's permission before files can be either sent or downloaded, users must refuse unsolicited data transfer and must not download files indiscriminately, even from friends and family. So long as people are careful this way, Cabir won't go wild.
F-Secure and other security firms have been warning mobile-phone users against accepting unsolicited files to prevent Cabir's spread. Such solicitations usually occur in public places where mobile phones abound, including restaurants, airport terminals and shopping malls.
To ensure maximum security, smartphone users should keep their handsets’ Bluetooth function turned off until it's needed. This will help ignore constant download queries from nearby devices. Leaving Bluetooth on to scan for other transmissions depletes a phone's battery power faster.
Cabir was created by a virus-writing group who call themselves 29A Labs.
Some security firms are already working on developing antivirus protection for mobile phones. “It is possible” said a techie, “… to get anti-virus and firewall software as well as scrambling technology.”
