Cybercriminals target smartphones

It is common knowledge that viruses, worms and malware attack computer systems but what is novel is that they also enter your smartphones. The prime reason being that almost everything we access on a computer can be accessed on a smartphone.

Security analysts say they have already seen all of the major online threats - Trojan horses, viruses, worms - spreading on smartphones, often through email attachments sent to the phones. For instance, one attack even used a Bluetooth headset to attack other Bluetooth users within 20 feet of the infected unit.

Internet security firm Trend Micro says that only 23 per cent of smartphone users enable security software already loaded onto their phones and 44 per cent think surfing the Internet on their phone is as safe or safer than doing so on a desktop computer even with no security software. The company also recently discovered what it believes to be the first botnet for mobile devices, heralding a dramatic change in the nature of mobile threats.

The process of this spreading of malware is that a file collects phone and subscriber ID and network information on affected devices, and connects to a website in order to send the information on. In addition, it can also send spammed SMS to the user's contacts acquired from the website it connected to earlier, states Trend Micro Labs. In short, it appears to be a botnet for mobile phones.

"Firms should ensure that all corporate mobile devices are protected with a firewall to block communications with the back-end site, along with SMS spam protection, data encryption and URL filtering. Treat your smartphone like a computer, not a telephone," advises Trend Micro.