Cross-Platform Worm Hits Pc

With the discovery of a new worm which functions cross-platform across mobile to PC, one gets an idea of the kind of threat that these wireless worms have in store for a wireless world. This claim is made in a statement by F-secure, a security firm posted on their official website on August 30, 2006.

A certain Mobler worm has the ability to transmit from windows and Symbian mobile platforms. The threat is not too great for Symbian systems but for Windows it can be fairly malicious. With the help of Symbian mobile devices, it creates copies on the memory card to enable execution in a Windows setting, thereby infecting the computer.

An executable file for Windows is created on the memory card in a Symbian setup. Once the user goes through the memory card content using Windows Explorer for a folder, there are strong chances that he would run the executable file leading to infection.

Awareness among enterprise users on worms using mobile remains low. Stephen Taylor, Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP's IS Manager feels that the risk may be greater for home users who engage in transfers of ringtones, pictures, games, etc between their home computers and mobile applications. His basis is the absence of risk in the workplace especially for computers used in business applications.

Far too many machines have been infected by adware, spyware and viruses so far, apart from users who install personal programs on laptops. This emphasizes the practice of synchronization usually done wirelessly, involving mobile devices and PCs. Most firms employ Group Wise System and BlackBerry Enterprise server at the server end instead of the users' system.

He goes on to issue a warning about the grave danger that such worms can pose in the future. His belief is that generally concern will be greater about the speed with which mobile viruses evolve. For creators of viruses, the mobile domain probably presents a fresh challenge.

As Symbian is an open platform, its market share is the most, making it a prime mobile OS target for attackers. Although Mobler does not qualify as a serious threat for mobile devices, it could certainly act as a future base for cross-platform malware. Thus it is best that all users take no chances by taking sufficient security protection for PCs as well as mobile devices.

Related article: Cross Site Scripting and phishing Flaws in Microsoft IE 7

» SPAMfighter News - 9/7/2006