The Trojan that could render PlayStation Portable (PSP) devices useless has been spotted in the wild.
The Trojan, Trojan.PSPBrick, was first reported late last week. It flashes critical system files and shows a message "Your PSP 2.0 is hacked, please reboot". However, it renders the console unbootable.
Symantec Security Response experts said last week that the PSP device is protected so that users can only run Sony-approved games. However, there are hacks available on the Web to allow users to run their own games. Trojan.PSPBrick pretends to be such a hack. The user must choose to download it.
Symantec noted that the Sony PSP only launched in SA in early September, so user figures are not yet available.
"Although this device is new to the region, this demonstrates the increasing trend towards threats on non-traditional devices, and this can impact users in SA as much as anyone in the rest of the world, as the downloads are available on the Internet," says Patrick Evans, regional director, Symantec sub-Saharan Africa.
"We would advise users to think carefully about what they are downloading, and whether endangering their new PSP is worth the risk."
"Whatever new technology emerges is going to be hacked or cracked," says Brett Myroff, CEO of local Sophos distributor Netxactics. "With the prevalence of Internet-enabled devices, this type of threat, although less significant than those that affect mission-critical systems, is likely to become a part of our lives.
"In the ever-evolving technology-centric world we live in, there will always be people who try to exploit any new technology that they can gain access to. And, naturally, the easiest way for hackers and virus writers to gain access to these technologies is via the Internet which is being used in all aspects of our lives, including home entertainment," Myroff says.
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