Main News Desk

Vulnerability on the latest Symbian operating system

June 05, 2008

F-Secure has reported that it is now possible for mobile phone hackers to bypass the security system of the Symbian OS 9 based S60 3rd Edition phones with a mobile application.

The newly developed hack is a so-called privilege escalation hack. This means that hackers can get unauthorised access to the phone’s file system to make system modifications.

Hacks directed towards the S60 3rd Edition have been evolving for some time. And the latest attack can be carried out without external devices or system knowledge by installing just one mobile application that is downloadable from the web.

Because the application can be considered as a hacking application, it is classified by F-Secure as riskware. F-Secure Mobile Security software identifies this application and removes it.

Symbian OS 9 based S60 3rd Edition is the market-leading open operating system for mobile phones.

More information about the S60 3rd edition vulnerability can be found by visiting the F-Secure weblog:
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00001451.html

Executive quote

Commenting on the vulnerability, Jarno Niemelä, senior mobile virus researcher at F-Secure, said: “The application needs to be installed by the user, so this hacking tool is not a threat to the average mobile user. Because the application lets a user access the file system, we consider this as a security risk. Mobile virus source code could be updated to work on 3rd Edition phones and with the addition of this privilege escalation, hackers could do pretty much the same things as they do on 2nd Edition phones.”

About the company

F-Secure Corporation protects consumers and businesses against computer viruses and other threats from the Internet and mobile networks. F-Secure’s award-winning solutions are available as a service subscription through more than 160 Internet service providers and mobile operator partners around the world, making F-Secure the global leader in this market. The solutions are also available as licensed products through thousands of resellers globally. The company aspires to be the most reliable security provider, helping to make computer and smartphone users’ connected lives safe and easy. This is substantiated by the company’s independently proven ability to respond faster to new threats than its main competitors. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Finland, F-Secure has been listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki since 1999.

The company has consistently been one of the fastest growing publicly listed companies in the industry. The latest news on real-time virus threat scenarios is available at the F-Secure Data Security Lab weblog at http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/.  

Contact details

For more information, please contact Sarah Douglas or Shenel Otkay at LEWIS, the PR agency, at:  

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7802 2626 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7802 2627 

Email: sarahd@lewispr.com shenelo@lewispr.com

Web: http://www.lewispr.com

Bookmarklets:

Recent Press Releases

2010 Archive

2009 Archive

2008 Archive

2007 Archive

Jump to:

Main News Desk

Vulnerability on the latest Symbian operating system

Executive quote

About the company

Contact details