UAE smartphone users warned about virus attacks

UAE specialist in information technology and cyber crime says criminals are targeting mobile operating systems of handsets, especially Android.

Smartphone users have been warned to be on their guard over an increasing number of malware attacks.
Dr Moutaz Kokash, a UAE specialist in IT and cyber crime, said criminals were aiming at the operating systems of handsets, especially Android devices, which make up 60 per cent of the world's smartphones.
Phones can be attacked using Trojan horse viruses sent through text messages, chat programs such as Whatsapp, or malicious software such as the latest versions of Loozon and FinFisher, the Internet Crime Complaint Centre (IC3) in the US says.
Dr Kokash said methods included scams promising prizes, and advertisements with links that if clicked could lead to the user's address book being hacked and infect the device's number.
He said FinFisher was a spyware that attacked smartphones, which could then be remotely controlled and monitored.
FinFisher can be easily transmitted to a mobile when the user visits a specific web link or opens a text message masquerading as a systems update.
Dr Kokash warned against opening suspicious emails, especially on smartphones, and urged users to install protection programs.
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