A mobile phone security firm on Monday revealed that hackers have developed new types of computer virus that can be planted in Smartphones running on Microsoft Windows operating system.
In a statement, San Francisco-based security firm Lookout said that the viruswas planted in video games designed for Smartphones such as “3D Anti-Terrorist” and “PDA Poker Art.”
“The worst part is that these games were available on websites that provides legitimate software for cell phones and Smartphones,” Lookout chief executive John Hering said.
Hering, citing the results of their investigations, said that the mobile video games are usually bundled with malicious software (malwares), which are designed to automatically dial premium rate telephone services in different countries like Italy, Somalia, and Spain.
“Our investigations also showed that many of the unwitting victims were charged hundred or sometimes thousands of dollars in a month,” he said.
“Most of them did not even have a clue that their phones were infected by the virus. Not until they receive their phone bills with hundreds of dollars worth of premium-rate services,” he added.
Hering also disclosed the identity of the virus developers, saying that they were also the programmers of the telephone services.
With the boom in the use of the Apple iPhone, Google Android, and Research in Motion Blackberry, the official said that Smartphone users have become the favorite target of these hackers because the technology was relatively new and still has several loopholes in the software design.
Sought for comment, Microsoft Corp said that they were unaware of the new viruses that have been plaguing its clients.
“As always, Microsoft continues to encourage customers to follow all of the steps of the ‘Protect Your Computer’ guidance of enabling a firewall, applying all software updates and installing anti-virus and anti-spyware software,” the company added.
Microsoft said customers should visit http://www.microsoft.com/protect/ for guidance on protection from viruses.
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