New computer virus sends prank messages to mobile phones

Y3K Security Products, the sole distributor for F-Secure Corporation (previously known as Data Fellows Finland) in Africa, today announced a warning for e-mail users regarding a new e-mail chain letter: the VBS/Timofonica worm. This worm is similar to the LoveLetter worm that went around the world in early May. However, this new worm activates by sending SMS short messages to random GSM phones. F-Secure Anti-Virus detects and disinfects the virus, with the latest update available from

VBS/Timofonica operates under the Windows operating system and needs Microsoft Outlook to spread itself further via e-mail, much like LoveLetter. The e-mail messages sent by Timofonica are as follows:

From: name-of-infected-user
To: random-name-from-address-book
Subject: TIMOFONICA

Content:

Es de todos ya conocido el monopolio de Telef'onica pero no tan conocido los m'etodos que utiliz'o para llegar hasta este punto. En el documento adjunto existen opiniones, pruebas y direcciones web con m'as informaci'on que demuestran irregularidades en compras de materiales, facturas sin proveedores, stock irreal, etc. Tambi'en habla de las extorsiones y favoritismos a empresarios tanto nacionales como internacionales. Explica tambi'en el por qu'e del fracaso en Holanda y qu'e hizo para adquirir el portal Lycos. En las direcciones web del documento existen temas relacionados para que ech'eis un vistazo a los comentarios, informes, documentos, etc. Como comprender'eis, esto es muy importante, y os ruego que reenvi'eis este correo a vuestros amigos y conocidos.

Attachment: TIMOFONICA.TXT.vbs

The Spanish text speaks critically about the monopoly of the Spanish telecom operator Telefonica, and urges users to open the attachment to see more information on the subject. It also asks users to forward this e-mail to all their friends. The word "Timofonica" itself is a joke on Telefonica word "Timo" means trick in Spanish.

What makes Timofonica special is that it also sends e-mail messages to an E-mail-to-GSM gateway in Spain. As a result, the virus might send this SMS message to thousands of random GSM numbers: informa que: Telef'onica te est'a enga~nando. This text means "Note: Telefonica is cheating you".

"This seems to be a political virus", comments Mikko Hypponen, Manager of Anti-Virus Research at F-Secure Corporation. "apparently the virus is trying to protest against the Telefonica company - and it attempts to do this by sending the message directly to people`s mobile phones."

Currently, there`s no information on where the virus may have originated from. There are no obvious clues in the source code of the virus other than that it`s obviously written in Spain.

So far, F-Secure has received reports of this new virus only from Spain. Apparently the SMS gateway will only send messages to GSM phones using the Telefonica Movistar network, most likely limiting the exposure to Spanish users only.

"This is the first ever virus to do anything with mobile phones," continues Hypponen. "However, this is not a mobile phone virus - it does not spread through phones, it just sends annoying message to them."

F-Secure Corporation launched F-Secure Anti-Virus for WAP Gateways in February 2000 to protect WAP mobile phone systems against virus attacks.