After years of hacking, phishing and other malware in PC’s, the criminal fraternity has moved onto mobiles in a big way.

Using the same tools as we use for our modem development software it is poosible to create an app that steals your data.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10912376

There is one key difference between PC and mobile hacking. With a PC the user needs to be enticed to a web site to download something onto the PC. It might be a key logger or phishing scam that offers a tax return/lottery win etc. However, on a mobile the connection to your finances is already made as everything you do on a mobile has a charge.

This is the reason why mobiles are so at risk; your mobile could download an app that uses your credit to dial premium rate numbers and you won’t find out until your next bill. The ‘money’ already exists to be taken.

Moral of the story – Don’t buy illegal apps. It is said that up to 90% of certain apps on mobiles are illegal downloads – that is one vulnerability. Code can be inserted into current popular apps and then offered for free, with the extra code and none of the protection of purchasing from the legal supplier.

2012 is getting filled up slowly but surely with end of world scenarios.

In true prophet of doom style we now hear that all IP addresses will run out, meaning no more internet connections. While it is true that the ‘old’ system of IP ranges will no longer suffice there is a fix already in place.

I can remember in the late 90′s having discussions about the IP addresses running out. The internet explosion hadn’t really hit at that time and the discussion was about workplace networks and business use. Unlike IPv4, which is 32 bit based e.g. 192.190.190.190, IPv6 is 128 bits long and uses hex rather than decimal notation e.g. 3dfe:1940:4545:3:200:feff:fe51:67df. We can jump from a ‘maximum’ of 4,294,967,296 IPv4 addresses to over 300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 IPv6 address.

IPV6 already has achieved wide adoption, but like most things human we have left switching to the new system to the last minute. Most operating systems can deal with IPV6 already so that shouldn’t be an issue.

As with the ‘millenium bug’ lets not tear our hair out about this one, though soon it will be the turn of another dire warning about the global use of IT.