IBM Forecasts Spread of Mobile Computing Viruses for 2005

[Bob Russell]

Almost no one these days thinks of using a computer on the internet without some kind of virus protection, and hopefully some sort of a firewall. But the same can't be said of portable computing devices and smart phones. So far, such attacks have been relatively rare and the devices themselves have only become widely adopted fairly recently.

But not only are the devices more common, but the data stored on them more important, and the devices are increasingly connected. WiFi, bluetooth and mobile phone internet capabilities are putting devices within the reach of malicious code more than ever.

IBM is reporting for 2005 that

Based on early indicators, a new and troubling trend this year may be the aggressive spread of viruses and worms to handheld devices, cell phones, wireless networks, and embedded computers, which include car and satellite communication systems.

There are some anti-virus programs available already, but not much is known about them by the typical user. They do not generally get rave reviews, nor are they reviewed much at all. In fact, they have been considered overkill.

So, 2005 is the year of the rooster, the year of handheld computing, the year of mp3 phones, and now it's also the year of portable device viruses!

(via PocketPCThoughts)

[Bob Russell]

Hmmm. It seems it's also the year of hi-def networking!
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000140030982/

[Colin Dunstan]

This is one of the reasons why convergence is not necessarily the best solution. A virus or worm on a cell phone can do a lot of more (financial) damage than on a PDA.

I have no problems installing and trying out new software on my PDA; yes, malicious code could wipe out my PDA or try to sniff out my WiFi WPA key, but that's about it. On the other hand, I have never installed any software on my cell phone, except for doing one firmware upgrade. I couldn't stand the idea that some virus would do malicious phone calls on my expenses.