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An SMS can force a URL or app on smartphones
- From: Brian Warkoczeski
- Date: Fri Jul 31 08:27:39 2009
An SMS can force a URL or app on smartphones
by Elinor Mills
July 30, 2009
LAS VEGAS--In one of a handful of SMS-related presentations here at the
Black Hat security show, researchers demonstrated on Thursday how they
can force certain types of smartphones to visit a malicious URL or
install an app without user approval.
The vulnerability only affects phones that have been misconfigured by
the original equipment manufacturer so that they accept any message sent
through WAP Push (Wireless Application Protocol), a service that runs on
top of SMS, said researcher John Hering.
WAP Push messages should only be accepted when sent by a trusted party
such as the mobile operator, said Hering, chief executive of Flexilis,
which provides software for protecting mobile phones from attack.
The vulnerability spans all Windows Mobile devices including HTC,
Motorola, and Samsung, but not all of any one make or model of phone is
found to be vulnerable, only random ones, he said.
For rest of article, see:
http://news.cnet.com/security/?tag=hdr;snav
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