Cell Phone Security

Filed in archive News on June 27, 2007

Cell phones can't be hacked into, say the experts. But try telling that to a Tacoma, Washington family, whose lives have been filled with torment thanks to cyber stalkers who have taken over the family's cell phone account. Harassing messages, endless phone calls and descriptions of what the family is doing at that moment or has done recently leads the family to believe hackers have found a way to spy on them via the phone's camera. What's really scary - the family has replaced their cell phone numerous times and have kept the phone turned off. Yet the stalking continues. Read the family's story, and Symantec's comments here.

As an IT professional, you should not expect your company's cell phones to be any more secure. These hackers may have been able to take over the family's cell phone account using spouse-monitoring tools that's readily available on the Internet. Worse, the cell phones can be turned on or off by the hackers. Imagine your company data at the disposal of such enterprising thieves.