Attack BlackBerry, gain network access

The first malware capable of attacking BlackBerry personal assistants (PDA) has just been introduced last weekend.

At the Hacker Defcon Forum over the weekend, researcher Jesse D'Aguanno said he had successfully developed the BBProxy program that could infect BlackBerry and allow attackers access to the network. is connecting to. BBProxy takes advantage of the link between the BlackBerry and the email server to break into the network. Thus, this software can be used to drop other malicious software onto the network.

BlackBerry service facilitates companies to allow their employees to access internal email while they are not at the office. To use this service, carriers will have to install server software on the network and need BlackBerry devices to send and receive email.

Source: vodafone.misco To succeed an attacker must trick a BlackBerry user to activate the malware. At the Defon Forum, expert D'Aguanno showed that his software could hide in a game called "Tic Tac Toe". " This will be the first BlackBerry trojan that I know ," D'Aguanno said.

This is probably the first malware to attack BlackBerry, Scott Totzke - RIM's director of global security - said. However, RIM - BlackBerry device manufacturer does not see this as a real threat to its customers.

" There is a lot to do before this kind of attack can become a reality ," Totzke said. " Unable to email an application to BlackBerry that the user must download the application ."

BlackBerry can run applications, including malicious applications, Totzke admits. For protection, the device has several options that allow companies to protect their network systems such as blocking software. RIM recommends that carriers should connect between BlackBerry and server sessions separately, instead of connecting continuously.

D'Aguanno plans to publish BBProxy software in the near future.

However, the release of software capable of attacking BlackBerry handsets suggests that the threat to mobile devices is growing rapidly. Especially when the device can be opened for an attacker to break into the enterprise network.

Hoang Dung