Virus Targets Cell Phone Users

Welcome Guest. | Log In| Register | Membership Benefits

June 06, 2000 (12:03 PM EDT)

Yet another e-mail virus is lurking out there, and this one apparently targets cell phone users.

The so-called VBS-Telefonica worm, like its Love Bug predecessor, utilizes Microsoft Outlook and the Outlook address book to propagate itself from PC to PC. But when activated, it sends short messages to random GSM phones in Europe, according to F-Secure, an anti-virus vendor based in Helsinki, Finland.

Theoretically, any cell phone that receives text messages can be affected, but the damage is limited to the inconvenience of receiving the spam message.

"It won't wipe out your telephone settings or anything," said Dan Takata, technology training mangaer at F-Secure.

Another anti-virus expert said the virus does not represent a new front in the mail-security war.

"The Love Bug could just as easily have attacked cell phones," said Alan Komet, manager of security solutions at Computer Associates International, Islandia, N.Y.

The text message accompanying the virus slams the Spanish telecommunications carrier Telefonica (stock: TEF), which it calls a "monopoly."

"The only reason it's associated at all with any kind of telecommunications is the message itself," Komet said.

Executives at F-Secure likewise label the virus as "political."

Several prevention measures, including those that block users from activating VBS attachments in e-mail will nip the bug in the bud, observers said.

F-Secure's Takata said the burgeoning use of e-mail-enabled cell phones means users should take proactive steps to protect themselves. F-Secure offers a security solution for WAP-enabled devices, which are very popular in Europe and expected to grow in popularity in the U.S. as well.