A teenage hacker prodigy in India claims to have developed a prototype of malware that will run on smartphones running Microsoft's new Windows Phone 8 operating system - the first known instance of Windows Phone 8 malware.
The researcher responsible for the prototype, Shantanu Gawde, is known as India's "youngest ethical hacker". He says he will unveil the malware prototype at the Malcon security conference in New Delhi, India, later this month.
Gawde's presentation will "demonstrate approaches and techniques for infecting... Windows Phone" including "how to steal contacts, upload pictures and steal private data of users, gain access to text messages etc."
However, little is known about the malware. For example, whether it relies on an exploit of an underlying vulnerability in Windows Phone 8 or masquerades as a malicious mobile application.
Dave Forstrum, director at Trustworthy Computing, Microsoft, commented:
"Microsoft is aware of the upcoming presentation but further details have not been shared with us. As always, we will investigate any issues disclosed in the talk, and will take appropriate action to help protect our customers."
Read more: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/11/13/windows-phone-8-malware/
