Universal Mobile Threat: JavaMites
by IDF Agent on Sep.23, 2009, under Uncategorized
As defined in a whitepaper on written by Eric Everson: “a JavaMite is any executable software or script written in (or with) the aide of a Java Software Development Kit/Component to specifically alter or otherwise tamper with the operational components of a mobile handset or device.” In other words, a JavaMite is a mobile malware that has been in development for sometime.
In February of 2009 a mobile trojan virus (malware file name: Trojan-SMS.J2ME.GameSat.a) was released which targeted Indonesia by disguising itself as an instant messaging application for singles. The Trojan-SMS.J2ME.GameSat.a file was designed to compromise the mobile banking of the Indonesian market by transferring trace amounts of money from the users mobile banking account to the hackers account. This attack targeted handsets without third party mobile security applications.
At face value this may seem like another harmless attack, but from the perspective of technical sophistication this form of mobile malware is a major development. This form of mobile malware has the technical capacity to infect mobile devices by the masses and so far the authors have demonstrated a preference of targeting the mobile banking sector.
