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Mobile Security News

Researchers turn USB cable into attack tool

Wednesday, 26 January 2011 10:33

Two researchers have figured out a way to attack laptops and smartphones through an innocent-looking USB cable.

Angelos Stavrou, an assistant professor of computer science at George Mason University, and student Zhaohui Wang wrote software that changes the functionality of the USB driver so that they could launch a surreptitious attack while someone is charging a smartphone or syncing data between a smartphone and a computer.

Basically, the exploit works by adding keyboard or mouse functionality to the connection so an attacker can then start typing commands or click the mouse in order to steal files, download additional malware, or do other things to take control of the computer, Stavrou told CNET in an interview. The exploit is enabled because the USB protocol can be used to connect any device to a computing platform without authentication, he said.

Android trojan sign of mobile malware evolution

A new trojan targeting Google Android users, mostly in China, could be a sign that mobile malware is getting sophisticated in a hurry.

The trojan, dubbed Geinimi, contains botnet-like capabilities and may serve as proof that malware designed for the smartphone is evolving much faster than it did when PCs first arrived on the scene, said Kevin Mahaffey, CTO of Lookout Mobile Security, which recently discovered the malware and posted a technical analysis of it on Friday.

"This is certainly a great leap in advancement over previous instances of malware," Mahaffey said. "There is a reasonable thesis that mobile malware will increase trajectory and become advanced relatively quickly."

Geinimi is embedded in what appears to be a legitimate game for the Android device and targets mostly Chinese users visiting third-party download sites and application stores. Researchers have not seen it in the official Android Market.

RIM to filter Indonesia Web traffic

Monday, 10 January 2011 14:12

Research In Motion will block pornography accessed through its smartphones in Indonesia.

The company announced today that it will develop a "prompt, compliant filtering solution" for Indonesia BlackBerry users by the country's January 21 deadline. If RIM doesn't start filtering out pornographic sites through its service by that date, the company could find itself in hot water with the Indonesian government.

According to Bloomberg, which first reported the story and spoke with officials in Indonesia, the country could block BlackBerry Web browsing altogether if RIM doesn't filter pornography.

Indonesia was quick to point out to Bloomberg that it wasn't alone in battling with RIM over Web-access regulations. Heru Sutadi of the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Body told Bloomberg that "Middle Eastern countries are also being hard on RIM."

Verizon to refund millions in 'mystery fees'

Tuesday, 05 October 2010 08:27

Millions of Verizon Wireless customers should have rebates on the way after the company said it incorrectly charged mobile phone users tens of millions of dollars for data they didn't use.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has confirmed it is investigating these "mystery fees," which could amount to $50 million in total.

SIM card crime ring arrested, is your phone safe?

Thursday, 30 September 2010 08:46

Investigators say fraudsters purchased codes to unlock SIM cards from phone company employees.

After nearly a year of investigation, French police have busted a ring of mobile phone hackers, whose members included employees of cellular phone companies. The ring had been operating for five years, selling about 30,000 stolen cell phone codes a month, and netting at least $675,000 a month, according to French authorities. Investigators said that fraudsters purchased codes to unlock SIM cards for about $4 each from phone company employees who had access to company databases. The codes were sold online for about $40. Why were the codes worth so much?