A National Science Foundation press release reports “scientists predict mobile phone viruses will pose a serious threat.” The scientists are network experts who have studied how “a Bluetooth virus can infect all phones found within Bluetooth range of the infected phone, its spread being determined by the owner’s mobility patterns.” The image above is a frame from a video accompanying the press release depicting the spread of a Bluetooth virus. Another video with the release is a time-lapse of a spreading pattern of a MMS mobile phone virus. The work is based at Northeastern University and led by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi.
Viral Epidemics Poised to Go Mobile
- May 26th, 2009
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by Judy Breck
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Comments
@ 02:17
I wonder if the study took account the fact that mobile phones are running on a variety of operating systems, which makes it difficult to write a virus that can spread in a similar manner as viruses from a Windows PC to another.
@ 00:49
This study is a postulation of viral action in a universe where bluetooth is actually a standard, rather than a protocol manhandled and modified by all and sundry. It assumes permissions structures allowing it’s spread without manual user intervention. It seems totally flawed and unworthy of any real comment imo.
@ 05:49
[...] a recent post here titled Viral Epidemics Poised to Go Mobile, I linked to a press release on the subject and to the BarabasiLab where the work is posted. The [...]