[HIB]You will be billed $90,000 for this hacked phone call

Among the scary talks at the Black Hat security conference yesterday was one entitled “You will be billed $90,000 for this call.” That title was an exaggeration, but it certainly highlighted the risks facing users with unprotected mobile phones.The talk by security expert Mikko Hypponen of security firm F-Secure showed how a compromised cell phone could make surreptitious long-distance calls that could cost you lots of money. It was one of a number of talks about the subject of hacking smartphones, which are vulnerable because they have the same capabilities and networking technology as computers. Hypponen, chief resource officer at F-Secure, followed the trail of hackers who hid malicious code in an anti-terrorist shooting game for smartphones. A hacker, apparently from Russia, hacked a legitimate game and planted a virus in it. The hacker then offered the tainted app for free on a copycat website.

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