Mobile malware

Mobile malware is malicious software that targets mobile phones or wireless-enabled Personal digital assistants (PDA), by causing the collapse of the system and loss or leakage of confidential information. As wireless phones and PDA networks have become more and more common and have grown in complexity, it has become increasingly difficult to ensure their safety and security against electronic attacks in the form of viruses or other malware.

History

Cell phone malware were initially demonstrated by Brazilian software engineer Marcos Velasco. He created a virus that could be used by anyone in order to educate the public of the threat.[1]

The first known mobile virus, "Timofonica", originated in Spain and was identified by antivirus labs in Russia and Finland in June 2000. "Timofonica" sent SMS messages to GSM mobile phones that read (in Spanish) "Information for you: Telefónica is fooling you." These messages were sent through the Internet SMS gate of the MoviStar mobile operator.[2]

In June 2004, it was discovered that a company called Ojam had engineered an anti-piracy Trojan virus in older versions of its mobile phone game, Mosquito. This virus sent SMS text messages to the company without the user's knowledge. Although this malware was removed from the game's more recent versions, it still exists in older, unlicensed versions, and these may still be distributed on file-sharing networks and free software download web sites.

In July 2004, computer hobbyists released a proof-of-concept mobile virus Cabir, that replicates and spreads itself on Bluetooth wireless networks and infects mobile phones running the Symbian OS.[3][4]

In March 2005, it was reported that a computer worm called Commwarrior-A had been infecting Symbian series 60 mobile phones.[5] This specific worm replicated itself through the phone's Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), sending copies of itself to other phone owners listed in the phone user's address book. Although the worm is not considered harmful, experts agree that it heralded a new age of electronic attacks on mobile phones.

In August 2010, Kaspersky Lab reported a trojan designated Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a.[6] This was the first malicious program classified as a Trojan SMS that affects smartphones running on Google's Android operating system, and which had already infected a number of mobile devices,[7][8] sending SMS messages to premium rate numbers without the owner's knowledge or consent, and accumulating huge bills.

Currently, various antivirus software companies like Trend Micro, AVG, avast!, Comodo, Kaspersky Lab, PSafe, and Softwin are working to adapt their programs to the mobile operating systems that are most at risk. Meanwhile, operating system developers try to curb the spread of infections with quality control checks on software and content offered through their digital application distribution platforms, such as Google Play or Apple's App Store. Recent studies however show that mobile antivirus programs are ineffective due to the rapid evolution of mobile malware.[9]

Taxonomy

Four types of the most common malicious programs are known to affect mobile devices:

Notable mobile malicious programs

See also

References

  1. Gralla, Preston (2005). PC Pest Control: Protect Your Computers from Malicious Internet Invaders. Google Books. 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472, US: O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 237. ISBN 0-596-00926-7. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  2. "Mobile Phones Swamped by E-Mail Virus". ecommercetimes.com. 7 June 2000.
  3. Malware Goes Mobile, Mikko Hypponen, Scientific American, November 2006, pp. 70-77.
  4. Hantula, Richard (2010). How Do Cell Phones Work?. Google Books. 132 West 31st Street, New York NY 10001, US: Infobase Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-43812-805-4. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  5. Computer Virus Timeline (infoplease.com)
  6. Android Virus Security Lab
  7. "First SMS Trojan detected for smartphones running Android". Kaspersky Lab. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  8. "Information about Smartphone Virus and Prevention tips". MyPhoneFactor.in. Retrieved 2013-01-12.
  9. Suarez-Tangil, Guillermo; Juan E. Tapiador; Pedro Peris-Lopez; Arturo Ribagorda (2014). "Evolution, Detection and Analysis of Malware in Smart Devices" (PDF). IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials.
  10. Mobile virus hack Google Play user on Brazil
  11. Samuel Gibbs. "HummingBad malware infects 10m Android devices". Retrieved 2016-07-06.

External links

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