CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-Computer hackers could use a text message to crash a Nokia Corp. 6210 mobile phone, said security company @stake Inc. in a security advisory.
Attackers can manipulate the parameters of a vCard electronic business card so that if the information is sent to a 6210 it will either cause the phone’s messaging capability to fail or the phone itself to crash or restart.
“It’s a very, very unlikely thing that would even happen,” said Keith Nowak, a Nokia spokesman.
Nowak said only computer-savvy attackers could create the virus, and that it could not be passed on from the recipient’s phone. Further, Nowak said Nokia no longer makes the 6210, which was sold in Europe.
Nokia has no plans to issue a software fix. The company said 6210 users need only to remove the phone’s battery to fix the error, and that none of the phone’s software or memory would be affected.
Although the security advisory is relatively minor, it highlights an issue that could become important in wireless. Some industry observers have predicted that over the next few years, users will have to download virus fixes for their phones as they must now do with desktop computers.
And the 6210 is not the only example of the situation. Users in Europe recently discovered a way to bypass security software in the Orange SPV mobile phone using Microsoft Corp.’s operating system, and in previous years text message viruses have sprung up in Japan and Spain.
