AplusWebMaster
Topic Starter
FYI…
- http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/ar…7.html#00001190
May 11, 2007 ~ "…Mobile spyware and spying tools have been active lately. This week, we have received samples of two new mobile spying tools – running on new platforms. There is now spyware for both Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 3rd Edition devices… Spyware is being developed by commercial companies that have a lot more resources, skills, and motivation to get their creations to work. Both new spying tools are rather similar in their capabilities. After being installed on the device, they hide from the user and report information from the phone to a central server. From there, it can be accessed through a web page interface. An interesting fact is that the spyware for the Symbian 3rd Edition platform is Symbian signed. Therefore it can be installed without any warnings and is capable of operating without Symbian security alerting the user that something is going on… The fact that the spy tool authors could get their software certified indicates a potential issue when using digital signatures and certificates as the only security measure. On one hand the software is technically exactly what it claims to be, an application that backs up user data to a server. One the other hand, when the software is installed onto the device without the primary user's knowledge and permission, it can be used as a spying tool that compromises the said user's personal privacy. Thus if suspect applications cannot break security components, they can then play with the process of certification…"
(Screenshots and more detail at the URL above.)
- http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/ar…7.html#00001190
May 11, 2007 ~ "…Mobile spyware and spying tools have been active lately. This week, we have received samples of two new mobile spying tools – running on new platforms. There is now spyware for both Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 3rd Edition devices… Spyware is being developed by commercial companies that have a lot more resources, skills, and motivation to get their creations to work. Both new spying tools are rather similar in their capabilities. After being installed on the device, they hide from the user and report information from the phone to a central server. From there, it can be accessed through a web page interface. An interesting fact is that the spyware for the Symbian 3rd Edition platform is Symbian signed. Therefore it can be installed without any warnings and is capable of operating without Symbian security alerting the user that something is going on… The fact that the spy tool authors could get their software certified indicates a potential issue when using digital signatures and certificates as the only security measure. On one hand the software is technically exactly what it claims to be, an application that backs up user data to a server. One the other hand, when the software is installed onto the device without the primary user's knowledge and permission, it can be used as a spying tool that compromises the said user's personal privacy. Thus if suspect applications cannot break security components, they can then play with the process of certification…"
(Screenshots and more detail at the URL above.)