Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
History shows that we are the vanguard of a time when criminal hackers develop tools and techniques to steal your money using your own cell phone.
ThereFifteen years, cell phones were bulky and cumbersome, they were to be transported in bags or briefcases. Then they became chunky, heavy bricks. Calls dropped every two minutes. Clearly, cell phones have evolved since. The cell phone today is more than a phone. There is a computer, that rivals many desktop and notebook computers manufactured today. A cell phone can do almost everything a computer can do, including online shopping, banking and credit card merchant processing.
The personal computer began to slow and stodgy, and was mainly used for things like word processing and solitaire. Today, computers are fast multimedia machines, able to perform extraordinary tasks.
There are consequences to the rapid evolution of these technologies.
ThereA decade during the slow, dial up era, hackers (and, at first, phreakers) hacked for fun and fame. Many have wreaked havoc, causing problems that crippled major networks. And they did it without the sophisticated technology of today.
Meanwhile, the dot-com boom and bust occurred. Then, as e-commerce gained speed, speed connections and broad band high it is easier to shop and bank online, quickly and efficiently. Around 2003, social networking was born, in the form of online dating services and Friendster. PCs have become part of our tax and social lives. We funneled all our personal and financial information on our computers, and we spent more of our time on the Internet. And the speed of technology began to considerably exceed the safe speed. Seeing an opportunity, hackers began hacking for profit, rather than fun and fame.
Now, iPhones and other smart phones have become revolutionary computers themselves. For the next generation, the phone replaces the PC. AT & T recently announced that they will be upping the speed of the latest version of their 3G network, doubling the download speed. It was reported that the next iPhone will have 32 gigabytes. This hard drive is more than three years my laptop.
So naturally, criminal hackers are considering the possibilities offered by the cell phones today, as they watched the computers there are five.
Two things have changed the game: speed and advancement of technology and spyware. Spyware was created as a legitimate technology for PCs. Spyware tracks and records social network activities, online searches, chats, instant messages, emails sent and received, web sites visited, keystrokes typed, and programs launched. It can be the equivalent of digital surveillance, revealing every stroke of the mouse and keyboard of the user. Parents can use spyware to monitor the surfing habits of their young children and employers can ensure that their employees work, as opposed to surfing for porn all day.
Criminal hackers have created a cocktail of viruses and spyware, which allows for infection and replication of a virus that gives the criminal total remote access to user data . This same technology is being introduced to cell phones that the legitimate uses of Snoopware on phones exist "Snoopware." Silently recording caller information, see the GPS positions, monitoring of children and employee web activity and mobile text messaging. Criminal hackers have taken even the Snoopware and spyware technology. Major technology companies agree that almost any cell phone can be hacked and controlled remotely. Malicious software can be sent to the intended victim disguised as a picture or a sound clip, and when the victim clicks on it, malware is installed.
A virus, called "Red Browser" was created specifically to infect mobile phones using Java. It can be installed directly on a phone, you have to get physical access, or malicious software that can be disguised as harmless download. infared Bluetooth is also a point of vulnerability. Once installed, the virus Red Browser allows the attacker to remotely control the phone and its features, such as camera and microphone.
Although it may seem unlikely, I consulted and appeared on television with an entire family seems to have been victims of all aspects of Snoopware. The Kuykendalls, of Tacoma, Washington, found that many of their phones had been hijacked to spy. They say the hacker was able to turn a compromised phone on and off, use the phone's camera to take pictures, and use the speaker as a bug. Since the program featuring the history of broadcast Kuykendalls and continues to repeat, I received dozens of emails from people around the world who have experienced the same thing. Many of these people seem totally overwhelmed by what happened to them, and some are beginning to suffer financial losses.
If history is any indication of the future, mobile phones, like computers, will soon be regularly hacked for financial gain. Some Internet security software vendors are beginning to offer software specifically for mobile phones. Meanwhile, the identity theft protection services are a line of defense against the latest techniques of cybercrime.
Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses hacked cell phones.
Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, an expert on identity theft, professional speaker, security analyst, published author and television news correspondent. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 and start-up companies as a consultant on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. the thoughts and advice of Siciliano on all these issues often appear in both television and print media news, including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of safety training as a member of the American Society for Industrial Security. He is the author of two books, including The Safety Minute: Living on high alert; How to take control of your personal safety and to prevent fraud . He also established a partnership with Uni-Ball to help raise awareness of the growing threat of identity theft and provide tips on how you can protect yourself.