Cabir cell phone virus

However, the pace of development for Cabir has accelerated in recent weeks, which may support the contention that the code has been distributed. Seven new versions of the Cabir worm appeared since Dec.

There have also been two new versions of Skulls, a Trojan horse program that affects mobile platforms since the original was discovered Nov. However, as of Tuesday, other antivirus companies had not followed F-Secure and issued alerts about the new Cabir variants.

With only a handful of examples of malicious code yet discovered, and few reports of infections outside of the antivirus lab, the threat of infection from mobile phone viruses is still very low compared with traditional computer viruses, antivirus experts agree.

Paul Roberts is an experienced technology reporter and editor who writes about hacking, cyber threats and information technology security. Here are the latest Insider stories. More Insider Sign Out.

We delete comments that violate our policy , which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion. Cabir mobile virus found in U. Ben Charny. A version of the Cabir virus has turned up in two Nokia s on display in a California cell phone store, in what is believed to be the first "on-the-ground" sighting of the virus in the United States. Discuss: Cabir mobile virus found in U. Like the original Cabir worm, dubbed Cabir-A, the new Cabir variants spread between mobile phones using a specially formatted Symbian operating system distribution or SIS file disguised as a security management utility.

When the infected Cabir. H or Cabir. I file is launched, the mobile phone's screen displays the word "Velasco" and the worm modifies the Symbian operating system so that Cabir is started each time the phone is turned on. Infected mobile phones scan for vulnerable phones using the phone's Bluetooth wireless connection, then send a file, velasco. While the new Cabir variants do not destroy data on the phones they infect, they do block legitimate Bluetooth wireless connections and rapidly consume the phone's battery, F-Secure said.

Both new Cabir variants have been changed so that they can spread more quickly than earlier versions of the worm. For example, unlike earlier variants of Cabir, the Cabir.

I can search for and find a new target if another vulnerable phone goes out of range, the company said. In addition to creating something of a template for future mobile device viruses, Hypponen said that Skull's existence highlights the fact that phones may be more vulnerable to attacks than other devices, based on their direct ties to systems that deal with purchases and other transactions.

The theft will happen a lot faster than it did with PCs. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy , which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion. Skulls program carries Cabir worm into phones New version of the Skulls Trojan releases the cell phone worm, a security firm warns.