150,000 cell phone users bugged in China
A new mobile phone virus has been discovered to have infected 150,000 people in China allowing hackers to remotely monitor calls, according to the Beijing Times on Wednesday.
The virus, named X Undercover, takes advantage of existing vulnerabilities in smart phones by forcing the three-way calling service to secretly open. Conversations and text messages can be monitored and copied after the virus breaks into the calling sequence, said Zou Shihong, a security expert with NetQin Mobile Inc.
The virus can also secretly video the phone’s owner, retrieve call and text records as well as pinpoint the user’s latest GPS position.
The virus is sold online from 3,000 yuan ($456) with hundreds of seller boasting about its eavesdropping range and latest upgrade features. The software is marketed towards discovering a spouse’s betrayal, a cheating employee or simply to monitor your child. Bugging and monitoring personal information is against the law in China, according to mobile security experts who advise people to be cautious when clicking attachments in multimedia messages or allowing others to use their phone.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/chi ... ontent_12067116.htm
