Jimmy Shah is a Mobile Security Researcher specializing in analysis
of mobile/embedded threats on existing platforms (J2ME, Symbian, Windows
Phone, iOS, Android) and potential mobile malware and spyware. If it's
lighter than a car, has a microprocessor, and is likely to be a target
it's probably his problem. He has presented on mobile threat research at
a number of computer security conferences.
As mobile phones allow us to carry our money in an electronic “wallet,” they will also become a greater target for crooks. Picking a pocket is a risky endeavor for a thieves, but it will be much less so if all they need to do is bump into their victims or brush by them with Read more…
Tags: Android, credit card fraud and protection, credit card skimming, mobile security
We suggested earlier that instead of going after the Secure Element chip and the information it keeps safe, attackers would go after the weaker point of the Google Wallet app. Security researcher Joshua Rubin has now created a proof-of-concept app, Google Wallet Cracker, that can recover the Google Wallet PIN on a rooted phone. Once Read more…
Tags: Android, credit card fraud and protection, mobile security
Today Google announced its Bouncer security service for the Android Market. This is a good initial step in protecting Android users. Respect the Bouncer To keep out known troublesome apps, the service performs a malware and spyware scan on all submitted material. It also uses behavioral analysis to determine if a given app is trying Read more…
Tags: Android, Android Market, mobile malware, Rootkits
The ShmooCon security conference takes place in Washington D.C. this weekend. There will be a good number of mobile and embedded talks, covering attacks on and defense of Bluetooth, Android, NFC, RFID, and more. Disposable computers A number of years ago at DefCon a team of penetration testers showed how to infiltrate a corporate network Read more…
Tags: Android, Bluetooth, iphone, mobile security, NFC, RFID, SchmooCon
I heard a number of interesting mobile-related talks at the 28th Chaos Communications Congress (28c3) this week. Not every talk at the Congress was about newly discovered bugs or zero-day exploits; sometimes we got the building blocks necessary to better understand systems and increase security. I enjoyed key presentations on reverse-engineering USB 3G data sticks Read more…
Tags: 3G, GSM, mobile data protocols, mobile security
Multifunction printers (MFPs) have been common in offices for years. They let employees print, scan, and copy documents. Two separate talks at the 28th Chaos Communications Congress (28c3) show how attackers can infect these trusted office devices. Hacking MFPs In Andrei Costin’s presentation “Hacking MFPs,” he covered the history of printer and copier hacks from the Read more…
Tags: Malware research, PostScript, Printers, white hat hackers
Yesterday at the 28th Chaos Communications Congress (28C3), in Berlin, security researchers along with Karsten Nohl and Luca Melette showcased a number of flaws and solutions in GSM mobile phone networks. Day 1 Defeating GSM encryption is not new. Nohl and Melette detailed how attackers can use known network control messages to help decrypt SMS Read more…
Tags: Hackers, mobile security, sms
Last year a friend had a bright idea for a party game that involved a series of QR codes in a circle on paper. He called it QR Code Roulette. Unlike the gambling game, selecting the right 2D barcode did not make you a winner. It turned out that every QR code contained a URL Read more…
Tags: Android, exploits, iphone, mobile malware
You would be surprised at the number of places you can find a GSM SIM card. Outside of your mobile phone, they can be found in power meters, water meters, vending machines, etc. These SIM cards (virtually identical to the one in your mobile phone) are used for machine-to-machine communication. Essentially all of these devices need Read more…
Sometimes you can’t trust every link on your Twitter timeline. Yesterday, security researcher Stefan Esser tweeted the following: Esser is the researcher who developed the Antid0te ASLR utility for jailbroken iPhones. If he helps to protect jailbroken iPhones, why would he want to infect me? If I didn’t deal with malware on a regular basis, I Read more…
Posts by Jimmy Shah