Kaspersky : Working malware for handhelds

Discussion in 'other security issues & news' started by FanJ, Aug 5, 2004.

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  1. FanJ

    FanJ Guest

    Quotes from Kaspersky:

    It's just three weeks since the 29A virus group delivered Duts
    (http://www.viruslist.com/eng/viruslist.html?id=1874404), the first
    proof-of-concept virus for PDAs [Personal Digital Assistants] running
    PocketPC, and already we have a viable Trojan horse that targets these
    handheld devices. The new Trojan, called Brador
    (http://www.viruslist.com/eng/viruslist.html?id=1984055), was written by
    a Russian malicious code writer, with the accompanying text, "Get to
    work, folks, the PocketPC market will soon explode".

    The number of devices used within the corporate world is increasing. In
    particular, the use of handheld devices - PDAs and smartphones - is
    growing significantly and with it, the use of wireless technology of one
    sort or another (802.11b, Bluetooth, etc.). These devices are quite
    sophisticated. They run IP services, offer web access and are hooked up
    to corporate networks. They also give users the ability to connect
    remotely to other devices and networks.

    Unfortunately, they're intrinsically less secure, operating outside the
    reach of traditional network security safeguards. And as they start to
    carry more and more valuable corporate data, wireless devices and
    wireless networks become a more attractive target for the writers of
    malicious code. History has shown that in the development of
    applications, devices and networks ease of access is delivered ahead of
    security. Since these devices live outside traditional network security,
    they could easily become the weakest link in the corporate security
    system.

    The author of Brador is the first coder to actively engage the PDA virus
    market; he is offering to sell the client part for Brador to all
    interested parties. The virus writing industry has arrived indeed: virus
    coders are producing effective malware and selling it openly.

    "We were certain that a functional malicious program for PDAs would
    appear soon after the first proof of concept viruses emerged for mobile
    phones and Windows Mobile', commented Eugene Kaspersky, Head of
    Anti-Virus Research at Kaspersky Labs, 'WinCE.Brador.a is a full-scale
    malicious program ready to go: unlike proof of concept malware, Brador
    has a complete set of destructive functions typical for backdoors.
    Moreover, the offer to sell the client part proves that today, virus
    writing is big business".

    - end quotes -
     
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