Arresting an airborne virus: the mystery of the mobile virus hides inside the 'perfect storm' of wireless and internet convergence

America's Network, April 15, 2004 by Lynnette Luna

NEW VULNERABILITIES

And the pressure is on for smart phone designers to continually add greater functionality to devices, increasing the chances of infection. Ultimately, consumers will want their mobile devices to function exactly like their desktop PCs, say analysts. Once customers have the ability to open e-mail attachments and download whatever they want from the Internet onto their mobile devices, they open a new door to potential attacks.

"The more complicated cell-phone operating systems become, the more difficult it will be to test them and find the security holes," says Anton Zajac, chief executive offer and president of Eset, a provider of antivirus and Internet security software.

Mobile operators can perhaps take solace in the fact their industry is not dominated by one OS platform, creating more challenges for hackers and virus developers, says Andrew Cole, senior vice president with consulting firm Adventis. In the PC world, Microsoft is consistently picked on because it provides the dominant OS, and virus writers want to cause the most damage.

"I expect a lot of stories about a lot of viruses, but the overarching view is that it probably won't happen as quickly as we might expect in terms of reaching the kind of impact we've seen in the wireline side," says Cole. "That fact that not all of the smart phones are based on Microsoft's OS platform might make it a bit more difficult for hackers to break."

Garcia-Manrique agrees, but with one caveat: "Having platforms that are homogenous from an OS perspective makes a difference. Virus writers look for platforms with the most impact. On the other hand, the size of the installed base in the mobile world is expected to surpass the desktop very quickly. It has potential to be very attractive to virus writers."

GROWING CONCERN

Mobile viruses appear to be curse words to a majority of wireless operators and handset manufacturers, all of whom either declined interviews or never responded to requests for information. Security experts say they are clearly concerned, but viruses won't be top priority until the industry actually sees them.

"There is definitely concern," says Brady. "Anything that takes away a revenue stream or affects user experience by discouraging them from using fee-based services is a concern for carriers."

According to some security sources, at least one operator has run a test virus to determine if it could take the network down. It did.

The nature of the wireless industry presents unique challenges to combating mobile viruses, says Brady. Abbreviated user interfaces, multiple OS platforms that range from the very simple to complex and the fact that users don't manage their devices like computers means carriers must develop proactive methods to combat viruses. Not only must phones incorporate anti-virus software, but carriers should also manage gateways in the network and screen for viruses, he says.

"Phones tend to stay in possession. That means carriers will have to be careful to choose phones from vendors that are security aware," explains Brady.