McAfee says its AVERT (Anti-Virus Emergency Response Team) Labs have been tracking mobile malware threats since 2004. Malware has appeared on smartphones, mobile devices with Internet access, as well as feature phones, devices lacking Internet access that are used primarily to make phone calls. Although feature phones are not particularly vulnerable to viruses or Trojans, hackers have exploited other vulnerabilities resulting from poorly written software, according to the company. The most common damage caused by these exploits has been denial of service attacks.
"While mobile threats have presented themselves largely as proof of concept, we think it's important for carriers to get ahead of the curve, and offer proactive and preventative solutions before a significant attack occurs," commented McAfee senior VP Todd Gebhart. "In doing so, we believe carriers and their customers will be able to avoid serious potential implications that include loss of service and permanent or temporary loss of data. Cingular has taken a leadership position among wireless carriers in providing virus protection for mobile devices and we look forward to providing market-leading protection to its customer base."
Cingular subscribers will be able to download VirusScan Mobile and purchase a one-year subscription for $30 through Cingular's MediaNet Web portal. The subscription includes automatic, over-the-air updates against any newly discovered mobile viruses and threats, according to McAfee.
A 30-day free trial download and subscription to VirusScan Mobile is available
here. Note that this link is intended to be accessed from a Windows Mobile 5.0 or Symbian device.
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