Mobile security is the next big thing for mobile phone providers and gamers alike, as peer-to-peer wireless becomes ubiquitous, and malware exploits Bluetooth, infrared and similar means to migrate between handsets and consoles.
Bullguard OEM global sales director Robert Oostergetel says traditional anti-virus (AV) vendors eschew the consumer market because of the low margins and equally-poor customer education levels.
At present, no South African cellular provider has a device-level AV solution in place that guards against malware spreading over unsecured Bluetooth connections in restaurants and other public spaces.
He says the providers see the need to have a policy on the subject and offer security to their clients. "And it is no different on PCs. They do what they have to do, which is network scanning. Everything that comes through the network is scanned. But, device-to-device, there's nothing [in place] at the moment.
"Customers want something that works and requires no obvious effort on their part," Oostergetel says. At the same time, the threat is increasing, partly because of human gullibility.
Oostergetel says there are about 150 known variants of "com warrior", a virus that spreads via Bluetooth.
"'Com warrior' primarily spreads by Bluetooth and then resends the phone's entire contact list at night by MMS. It uses Bluetooth by day, MMS by night. It is a pretty basic virus for the environment it works in, but the interesting thing is it does not self-propagate, it needs human intervention," - and an open Bluetooth connection. The victim typically receives an incoming message and then accepts and opens it out of curiosity.
While active, the malware also searches for e-mail addresses - to sell to spammers - and digits consistent with credit card numbers and their associated security codes.
"The question is, 'how do you roll out security solutions that are not over the top, that don't kill the processing power of the phone and is discreet?'" he says. "It is not that there is a massive unmanageable problem; there is a small, very manageable problem, which, if managed correctly, will never be a problem."
Oostergetel says people tend to forget smart phones are computers and communications devices. "Those things combined make it a convenient tool. But if it is convenient, it is also insecure. That is just the way it is."
There are certain basics consumers have to remember, he says, adding that 90% of problems involving smart phone security can be solved through common sense, and without spending a cent on technology. "Having open communication channels when you are not using them [smart phones] is a bad idea. Receiving incoming communications, especially over IR or Bluetooth, when you don't know who they are from, is, by definition, a bad idea," Oostergetel says. The same applies to gaming consoles.
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