Security firm warns of mobile phone spam

NEWS A malicious software program that could allow troublemakers to spam mobile phones, has been found by Moscow-based security firm Kapersky Labs. The company released the warning when its German laboratories received concerned reports from clients about the potential for this program to cause havoc in the wrong hands. The program works by sending up to 50,000 text messages via the Short Message Service (SMS) widely used now on most mobile phones. It's not likely to cause any damage but could be a huge practical problem, according to business development manager Kirill Zhuchkov. "This is the first step into the area of mobile phone spam. If the source code is available, it will be easy to develop it for other countries." However, he confirmed that no real examples of mobile phone spamming had actually been reported.