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Cell Phones Fall Victim To Spyware

Cell phones can become infected with the same malware and spyware that invade computers.

“Bad people are always looking for things to create havoc in people’s lives, and the cell phone has typically been insulated — no longer,” said Mark Lewis, of the Louisiana Technology Council.

Anything can be found online, including dozens, if not hundreds of types of malware that make it possible to spy on people through cell phones or mobile devices.

“Malware is a program or product or service that can create maliciousness within a PC or device, no matter what it is,” said Lewis.

WDSU found plenty of Web sites selling the malware. The sites boast things like finding out if a spouse is cheating, if a daughter is dating someone undesirable or if a business partner is making backroom deals. All it takes is an online payment and five minutes to download it to a cell phone.

“We knew about what it did, but when we actually saw it in action we were extremely alarmed and concerned,” said Frank Giovingo Jr., of Louisiana Office Technologies.

Giovingo owns a company that manages computer networks all over the country. He doesn’t use spyware, but he agreed to infect an iPhone to demonstrate how it works. He checked several sites before finding out that was compatible with the phone’s model. It took about an hour-and-a-half to download it to the phone.

“To be infected, there is a lot to it,” said Giovingo.

WDSU took the infected iPhone and headed out on the road. Even with the phone turned off, Giovingo could monitor its every move. His partner back at the office began calling and texting the phone. Each time a text came in, the malware alerted Giovingo on his computer. He could also have the alerts routed to his own phone to monitor on the go.

“The malware tells me it’s a text message coming in, when it came in, and it tells me who sent it and what the contact name is in the phone,” said Giovingo.

The program also notified him of voicemail and e-mails sent to the iPhone, allowing him to read each one. Some programs even allow him to record phone conversations from a remote location. Before anyone realizes it, Giovingo is able to remove the software from the phone.

“If I send these codes to this phone via text, it’ll remove the software from the phone,” he said.

With most of these programs, the spy needs to actually have the physical phone for installation — but not for all. Some of the spyware can be installed without the phone ever leaving the owner’s possession.

“Once it’s on your phone, people aren’t going to be aware of it,” Lewis said.

Kristine Green, of the FBI, agreed.

“It would be hard,” she said. “You could have the cell phone forensically searched to see if there was any application on there. But other than that, if you didn’t know to look, you might not know.”

The programs themselves aren’t illegal — it’s the way they are used that can be a violation of state or federal law.

“It would be an illegal interception of electronic communication, if someone were to put some type of recording device on your phone,” Green said. While the FBI says it hasn’t seen a problem in and around New Orleans, it has seen something called a “spoof card,” which hides callers’ identities.

“A spoof card is a service that disguises your phone number and changes it to anything you want it to be,” Green said. “You can even mask your voice with male and female voice-changing settings.”

Reduce the risk by looking for signs that malware may be installed on a phone — things like the battery draining faster, slow response to commands and strange text messages.

“People need to be aware that they need to protect their phone like they protect their wallet or their purse or anything of value, like their credit card,” Lewis said.

That means always keeping a phone close to its owner.

WDSU checked dozens of malware sites for this story and found that all software does not work on all phones and some software is quite expensive — up to $400. Plus, there is no guarantee it will work at all.

There is little to no virus protection out there now for cell phones.

[Thanks: http://www.wdsu.com]

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