Smartphones will be Cyber-criminals next Target

The cyber-criminals next focus could be the cell phones reports The Georgia Institute of Technology Information Security Center (GTISTC) in its annual Emerging Cyber Threats Report. Experts suggests users to be more cautious with their phones just like they protect their PC's from spam or virus attacks.

Simen Coney of Adaptive Mobile says:

"One of common types we see now runs amok on the Symbian platform. These viruses work their way through the contact book, sending themselves out to every subscriber who has been called or has called that handset."

Adaptive Mobile tracks malware and provides security software for mobile firms. They found that number of mobile spam and viruses is increasing. The virus incidences increased about 50% from last year. With more smartphones in use more applications allow financial services, and criminals will try to access such sensitive data.

The mobile viruses were not as dangerous as computer viruses as they are on its early stages. The first mobile viruses came as executable files but now more sophisticated viruses show up, Coney added:

"But in the last four months, the majority of viruses we now see are of a new type that either masquerade as an MP3 file, a picture file, or a media file"

He put forward various suggestions like exercising the same caution with their mobile devices as with a PC, cautious when running attachments, keeping an eye on the mobile bills on regular basis and turning bluetooth connection to undiscoverable mode.

The GTISC's report suggests co-operation between operators, manufacturers, and application developers is the easier way to develop a robust security infrastructure for mobiles. Read the Network world's article on the GTISC cyber threats report.