Kaspersky Lab announced last week that it is testing a beta version of new mobile anti-virus software for smart phones.
The Kaspersky Anti-Virus Mobile 2.0 will be the latest in a spate of products on the market designed to protect smart phones using the Symbian operating system. Last year saw a surge in these products, with competitors such as Symantec, Trend Micro and F-Secure all releasing products to protect mobile devices.
The development of mobile viruses and malware is still in its formative stage. The first mobile worm, Cabir, only came to light last year. Since then, several bits of malware such as the trojans Skulls and RedBrowser have heightened fears that this could the next big attack vector for black hats to target.
Kaspersky and its competitors have also started to address other mobile threats, including the growing threat of short message service (SMS) spam. SMS spam, already a threat in Asia and Europe, is likely to increase in North America as text messaging becomes more prevalent.
Kaspersky has invited the general public to participate in its beta process as it refines its new product.
