Researcher: Google Wave, iPhone and Android will be heavily attacked in 2010

[hookbill]

"Kaspersky Lab Americas"
They are an internet security company... they profit off creating 'fear' in tech safety.
I would take this article with a grain of sand.

I believe the expression is "a grain of salt."

Yeah, right. I don't believe it, Microsoft is the hated company that everyone loves to attack. They will go after Macs before phones, and even if they do there is Virus protection available.

Paranoia it strikes deep. Into your like it will creep. - Stephen Stills

 

[Tegamal]

Like everyone else already said, as long as you are smart with your phone, don't download anything from suspicious sites, backup on a regular basis, & leave comments in the marketplace (good or bad), so IF you are attacked, you can be the hero & prevent others from a similar fate.

 

[mth04]

I have to agree with some others hee. I for one don't care if they want to try. I don't keep my banking or card info on my device. I am sure that if I buy something from the market. google's servers are secure. I can always factory reset my device if I need to.

Articles like that are meant to scare the public and increase sales of certain products. It's like watch FOX or CBS for real news....There's always a twist for what they "want" you to think

 

[Trever1t]

Paranoia it strikes deep. Into your like it will creep. - Stephen Stills

Starts when you're always afraid.

 

[Lightninrod]

And then there's this...

Computer hackers this week said they had cracked and published the secret code that protects 80 per cent of the world’s mobile phones. The move will leave more than 3bn people vulnerable to having their calls intercepted, and could force mobile phone operators into a costly upgrade of their networks

 

[REARless]

I agree with all of the common sense espoused by others: only download from trusted sources, think before you click on an install etc.

But a word of warning to all of those who have rooted their phones and have limited LINIX/UNIX experience - You are the most vulnerable to attacks.

If someone hacks your phone, they have "the keys to the kingdom." They can run keystoke loggers, download more malware, get your passwords, etc.

 

[Leonard Wong]

I actually think the exposure is a valid concern. At Blackhat this year, they demonstrated a POC rootkit. I didn't read the exact details, but I'm sure the payload has to be on the device before an SMS message could be used to activate it. The same could easily exist for the Droid. I am intrigued.

iPhone Vulnerability, Mac OS X Rootkit Debut at Black Hat

The overall effectiveness would be limited by the exposure and response time of Apple/Google. With Windows, the effectiveness has always been with the response time of Microsoft plus the exposed user base. I am curious to what the preference for users here would be... If there was a known vulnerability or hacked app on your device, would you want Apple/Google or AT&T/Verizon to be able to automatically stop it (i.e. forcing a patch, remotely removing an app, or blocking an app from starting), or should it be up to the user to be aware?

For the exploit to bear fruit, there also has to be something worth taking. What personal information is on my phone that I don't put myself at risk at surrendering if I lose my phone?

 

[Leonard Wong]

And then there's this...

Computer hackers this week said they had cracked and published the secret code that protects 80 per cent of the world’s mobile phones. The move will leave more than 3bn people vulnerable to having their calls intercepted, and could force mobile phone operators into a costly upgrade of their networks

Fortunately for us Verizon/Droid users we are protected because we are on CDMA.

 

[Leonard Wong]

I agree with all of the common sense espoused by others: only download from trusted sources, think before you click on an install etc.

But a word of warning to all of those who have rooted their phones and have limited LINIX/UNIX experience - You are the most vulnerable to attacks.

If someone hacks your phone, they have "the keys to the kingdom." They can run keystoke loggers, download more malware, get your passwords, etc.

+1 and in addition, even downloading from trusted sources is a false sense of security. One of the things that Android users have wanted is a more open market place. So now that we've got one, Google is not going to sit there and police published apps.