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From web to voice security

Turning the wheel to the mobile phones, hackers are challenging the vulnerability of the mobile operator's network

Bhaskar Hazarika

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

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The handsets available in the market today are embedded with a number of features, like the Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Infrared, GPRS, Edge, WAP, which increase the risk factor for a hacker to invade it. Compared to the conventional phones used for voice and text messages, the phones have come a long way with inbuilt value added services.

According to experts, mobile phones that use wireless connections to access the Internet are more prone to virus attacks and hacking. This is due to the increase in the number of information workers who stay connected to their office mails through mobile phones.

Bluetooth woes and 'Vishing'

The use of Bluetooth on mobile phones has become common with handsets starting at rock bottom price with Bluetooth and WAP enabled. But these phones carry huge risk if the user is not aware about its vices. It becomes easy for a hacker to steal into your cell phone, if your Bluetooth device is set on. The hacker can steal all you information from your contact list and even change the contact list and destroy all the information. Bluesnarfing is the term used for this type of hacking through Bluetooth.

Again the phishing mails on your laptops, requesting you to confirm your credit card details and back accounts, which are always seen as terror mails. According to experts from the RSA, the security division of EMC, a new terror mechanism is in news now. "Vishing" or "Vhishing" or "Voice Phishing", this new type of scam makes use of the phone to get your personal financial information for fraudulent use.

According to Secure Computing, the Internet security software maker, till date just four vishing scams have been identified, but the practice is expected to 'explode'. Among them the most prominent one was the one involving online money transfer service PayPal. In an e-mail claiming that the customer's PayPal account had been compromised, victims were directed to dial an 805-area number that said, "Welcome to account verification. Please type your 16-digit card number."

"In 'vishing', identity thieves ask people to call a phone number attached to a VoIP account. Such accounts can be obtained easily online through services like Skype or retailers such as Vonage reselling VoIP products", says Srikiran Raghavan, regional sales head, RSA.

First, you get an email message saying the security of your bank account is compromised and you have to dial a 1-800 number to verify the account information. Once you fall in the trap and dial the number mentioned in the e-mail, you are asked, using automated messages, to type your 16-digit card number. The call can then be used to harvest additional details such as security PIN, expiry date, date of birth, bank account number, and the additional information to hack in to your back account.

According to experts at this point there's not much CIOs can do to protect their companies' employees and customers from being vished. It would be smart to alert company's employees and call center representatives who interact with customers to the vishing trend, though.

Representatives can instruct customers to hang up on a suspicious automated call and instead call the number listed on the credit card or bank statement.

After quakes

Remember the news of hacking Hollywood celebrity Paris Hilton's mobile phone and all her contact information being made public. All the contact information of her celebrity friends was made online.

It is difficult to assess the amount of damage that a hacker can do through the mobile phone. The hacker can obtain the mobile number and make calls through the same network and the bills would be levied through the single account of the subscriber. The worse part could be that a hacker gaining access and take over for cell phone spying and remote mobile phone hacking. The hacker can also listen to all conversations going on around the owner of the phone. A hacker through a hacking cell phone can also retrieve voice mails.

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