Mobile Worms and Viruses

Abstract

The ever-increasing use of mobile devices for communication and entertainment has made these devices an increasingly attractive target for malicious attacks. Thus, mobile device security has emerged as an important research area. Although malicious exploits for mobile phones have been steadily developing over the last decade, the emergence of smart-phone technology is proving to be a turning point in development of such malicious exploits. With the increase in sophistication of smartphones and their use for day-today activities, mobile threats (e.g., viruses, spyware, and malware) has also increased. This trend can be attributed to the fact that phone users want to communicate, and viruses want to be communicated. This chapter presents a state-of-the-art review of the developments in this important field of mobile malware.