Mobiles under threat from 'airborne viruses'

As the danger posed by wireless viruses rockets, mobile users must factor operating system security into their mobile phone purchasing decisions, research published today has warned.

ABI Research said that most of today's mobile viruses spread via text messages. While these are malicious they have not been devastatingly harmful, but the analyst warned that such infections could potentially wreak havoc.

ABI Research analyst Brian Pellegrini said: "What if a virus infecting your phone started buying hundreds of ring-tones?

"What about Bluetooth? Designers of Bluetooth-equipped phones have not adequately addressed security issues, and you could potentially see viruses spreading spontaneously between two phone-carrying people who pass each other on the street, just like real human viruses."

Pellegrini added that, in contrast to PC viruses, the mobile phone versions have not, by and large, targeted Microsoft's mobile OS, but Symbian's, which holds about an 85 per cent market share.

The analyst pointed out that virus authors are willing to forego their traditional antipathy to all things Microsoft, if it means reaching a larger pool of victims.

The ABI Research study concluded that all creators of portable operating systems need to devote more effort to security.