More than 400 mobile viruses have been documented to date,
resulting in tens of thousands of infections worldwide. These
numbers may pale in comparison with Win32, but Patrik Runald,
Chief Security Advisor at F-Secure, believes they are a wake-up
call. "At some point, the criminals now developing PC malware
will start focusing on mobile devices," Runald said. "It's not a
question of if, but when and how. I'm keeping a close eye on the
iPhone -- it may be the tipping point that sets the mobile
malware field afire." That was then Skeptics have long scoffed
at the prospect of mobile malware. Why? The mobile market was
too small to represent a worthwhile target. Mobile devices were
too diverse and too limited to facilitate large-scale attacks.
And mobile devices lacked the connectivity and infection vectors
required to propagate malware rapidly, without depending on user
interaction. To appreciate these impediments -- and how they're
changing -- it's helpful to consider the history of mobile
malware. Palm Liberty