Italy struck by CommWarrior infection
Published: 18 May 2005 10:40 BST
The mobile phone virus CommWarrior recently surfaced in Italy, in a sign that destructiveness of the Symbian OS nemesis is reaching a boil after simmering for months.
As feared, the virus is showing its propensity for spreading. Italy is the third nation in only three weeks to suffer CommWarrior attacks, according to security experts F-Secure. The other nations are India and Oman.
Originating in Ireland in January, the virus forces mobile phones to send to random contacts versions of its malware that are hidden inside premium messages based on multimedia messaging (MMS) technology. The virus also can spread through Bluetooth connections. It infects only those phones based on the Symbian operating system.
While the number of infected phones is below 50, CommWarrior alarms security experts because it’s the first virus spread via MMS, which can instantly reach both mobile phones and PCs.
ComWarrior's strength also hinges, in part, on users' relative naïveté about mobile phone viruses. To fall victim to CommWarrior, a user has to open the email and download the attached malware. On a PC, the same email would raise a number of red flags that users would be unlikely to miss. To fool recipients, CommWarrior virus writers use more than 20 legitimate-looking types of messages, including one purportedly containing a Symbian software update.
"We know people are curious, and there are always some people who will install CommWarrior, especially since via MMS they seem to receive the file from someone they know," F-Secure warned in a Web site posting on 13 May.
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