Cellphone Virus Warning for City of London

Anti-virus vendor, McAfee has warned Londoner's using a Bluetooth service in the City of London to beware of Bluetooth transmitted mobile phone viruses. IBM has fitted the trees in the City of London with Bluetooth applications so mobile phone users in the area can access the latest scores from the Wimbledon tennis championships.

A similar initiative was available for the Helsinki World Championship, which resulted in hundreds off peoples mobile phones being infected with the 'Comm Warrior' virus after downloading Bluetooth information on the event. The virus sent messages to other mobile phone users listed in the infected handset's directory resulting in recipients receiving an MMS from someone they thought they knew but actually was an infection.

With hundreds and thousands of people passing through the City every day the potential for a mobile cyber attack is huge. If they have the Bluetooth function turned on to receive Wimbeldon news they could instead be receiveing viruses. It then only takes one user to accept this unofficial invitation and malicious content could then be downloaded onto their phone and sent out to the users contact directory.

McAfee recommends that mobile phone owners refrain from installing or accepting applications or services contained in Bluetooth or MMS messages that come unexpectedly, unless validated with the supposed sender."

Posted to the site on 27th June 2006