Symbian mobiles held to ransom

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Symbian handsets are being held to ransom by a virus that deletes all text messages then threatens to render the handset permanently unusable unless users pay up. Called Kiazha.A, the malicious code has so far been confined to Symbian handsets in China. Infected users are warned to pay about EUR*4.50 into an account via QQ, a Chinese instant messaging service and virtual currency system.

The virus is part of a larger malware payload known as SymbOS/Multidropper.cr. The package automatically opens a QQ account for the user and forwards all text messages to the malware author. Adding insult to injury, handheld users are charged as normal for messages sent by the malware.

McAfee engineer Jimmy Shah noted: “Multi-droppers are usually compiled by malware authors who are not programmers but simply collect the work of others.” This one was no different in that respect, said Shah. He said this malware was unusual in that it was profit driven, a rarity in the mobile malware field where authors mostly launch attacks to gain kudos in the black hat community.

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