The first mobile telephone virus that can replicate by way of multimedia messaging service - as well as the Bluetooth system - has been spotted and believed able to whip around the world in just minutes.
Known as CommWarrior, the bug moves through the Symbian Series 60 smart phone system and can spread by way of multimedia messages including image, audio, or video, according to an advisory from Finnish security firm F-Secure.
F-Secure also said CommWarrior can move from phone to phone or phone to e-mail. About 20 million cell phones use the Symbian system, including some phones made by Nokia, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, and Panasonic.
"Phone viruses so far have been spreading over Bluetooth, so they only affect phones that are within a few meters," F-Secure's advisory said March 7. "An MMS virus can potentially go global in minutes, just like an e-mail worm."
The company said it is analyzing the bug, which it thinks was born in Russia because it includes Russian-language text translated as "No to braindeads."
Last year the Symbian system was hit by the world's first known cell phone bug, Cabir, but that bug isn't known for spreading fast to broad areas.
F-Secure analyst Mikko Hyppoenen said on the company site that two configurations of CommWarrior have been spotted, though the precise differences between the two are yet to be examined or released. Among others, the bug is known to send messages with texts like "Norton AntiVirus Released now for mobile Install it!" and "MS-DOS MS-DOS emulator for SymbvianOS. Nokia series 60 only. Try it!"
