A zombie virus has infected more than 1 million cell phones in China and the virus sends out spam messages that can cost as much as $300,000 a day, according to Shanghai Daily.
The “zombie” virus, hidden in a bogus anti-virus application, can send the phone user’s SIM card information to hackers, who then remotely control the phone to send URL links, usually pay-per-click ads, in text messages to contacts in the user’s address book.
Once a user clicks on the infected link, their device also gets the zombie virus and, like real zombies, it keeps on infecting more people. So far, there’s no word on who is behind the attack and Chinese officials even said it can evade security software.
Yikes.
This is another sign that hackers are increasingly looking at mobile phones because we are increasingly storing more valuable data on these devices. That’s why we just saw AVG buy DroidSecurity to beef up its mobile chops and I’d expect this issue to become larger as smartphone adoption rises.
Norton is also throwing its weight around in the mobile space, as it has released products for Android and the Apple iPhone and iPad. The company has a well-known name with security and it may just be enough to get some companies to bite on using Apple and Android products for its workforces.
Startups are also eying this space, as Lookout has already surged beyond two million users and that number should increase rapidly because it’s featured in a Droid commercial from Verizon. It also recently introduced premium services which enable users to remotely lock and wipe their devices.
There’s still no silver bullet for zombie viruses like this one but the tools are getting there quickly. As always, treat your phone like a computer and be wary of your actions and you should be okay.
[Via Yahoo News, Shanghai News, photo]
