Mobile Malware: Blackberry’s Beware

April 24th, 2006: A new report published by Unstrung Enterprise Insider says that smartphones, PDA’s and other high-end wireless devices are posing an increasingly large security threat to enterprises as viruses evolve.

Titled Mobile Malware: The Enterprise at Risk, the report looks at the rapid uptake of wireless devices and the impact of mobile malware as viruses that attack the operating systems and supporting IT and telecommunications infrastructure emerge.

“Today's mobile OSs, such as Symbian and Microsoft Windows Mobile, are used by dozens of vendors across dozens of models, making it possible to write a single piece of malware that targets a pool of potential victims numbering in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions,” says Tim Kridel, research analyst for Unstrung Enterprise Insider and author of the report.

“Malware writers are very good at identifying and exploiting all of the ways that data moves in and out of wireless devices. Viruses are routinely hidden in games that users download over the wireless network. Others are transferred via Bluetooth or downloaded when the user clicks on a link in a message. A few can enter a phone one way and exit another. Therefore it is necessary to implement anti-malware tools and policies to address all possible scenarios and points of vulnerability.”

The report includes "Insider Tips" in the form of guidelines and procedures that enterprise telecom and IT departments can consider to reduce the risk of malware exposure.

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