- Commwarrior-A
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Commwarrior-A is the first known mobile phone virus capable of replicating via MMS messages, which captured the world's attention in March 2005. The virus, originally targeted at Symbian Series 60 smart phones, failed to result in an epidemic. However, its ability to propagate via Multimedia Messaging Service messages (MMS) worried some experts at the time of its discovery.
Until the arrival of Commwarrior-A, mobile phone viruses had spread over Bluetooth, and thus were only capable of affecting nearby phones. By contrast, an MMS virus could potentially spread as quickly as an email worm. It is believed that the virus originated from Russia because it contained text stating "OTMOP03KAM HET!" which roughly translates to 'No to braindeads.'
MMS messages are text messages that include an image, audio or video. They are sent from one phone to another or via email.
In the summer of 2005, some major anti-virus vendors came under fire from mobile industry experts who accused them of 'over-hyping' the threat posed by Commwarrior-A in order to perpetuate their own business model.
Commwarrior-A is a strong example of a 'proof of concept' virus.
External links
- CommWarrior Mobile Virus Removal (manual fix)
- Techworld reports on discovery of Commwarrior-A in March 2005
- The Register exposes 'over-hyped' threat of MMS virus
- Silicon.com investigates the future of the mobile virus
- BBC News 24 runs a demonstration of Commwarrior-A for its viewers
- Reverse engineering workproduct of Commwarrior-B (requires IDA Pro)
Categories:- Portable device viruses
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