Virus creeps into Vodafone handsets from factory

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Internet content security firm Trend Micro said that its researchers were alerted to the discovery of a malware that came pre-installed on a Vodafone mobile phone handset. Its memory card was also believed to carry malware in it.

Trend Micro said in a statement that Vodafone has been taking the heat for packing malware straight out of the box on their HTC Magic Android smartphones. The recipient of one of the malware-laden phones was, fortunately, an employee of the Spanish antivirus firm, Panda Security, it added.

Plugging the virus-infected phone via USB into any PC quickly led to an infection by WORM_SILLY.QT. Vodafone has already released an official statement saying that the infected phone problem was an isolated one.

Trend Micro threat researchers believe that it is likely that a computer in Vodafone’s production line has been infected by WORM_SILLY.QT. And, because of the worm’s capability to propagate through removable drives, somehow SD cards in a certain batch of smartphones were infected and there is a possibility that other smartphones coming out of the same factory might be carrying the same Malware, warned Trend Micro.

Trend Micro in its 2010 Future Threat Report has predicted that mobile phones coming from the factories can carry Malware in 2010. The latest incident with Vodafone handsets is the best example of how a consumer can be affected directly from the product coming from the factory and which is not even exposed to the outside virus affected world, it added.