Hacking into cell phones kick off the gold rush

Hacking into cell phones kick off the gold rush

Hackers are increasingly conducting attacks against smart phones, which is starting a race between software giants, upstarts and carriers, all willing to cash in on new ways to help their clients to protect themselves.

at the same time they are firm around solid operating systems such as the iPhone, Apple, and Google's Android, the smartphone market becomes a more attractive target for hackers looking to cause maximum damage with each attack .

The movement, however, has been creating business opportunities for the entire industry, from traditional producers of antivirus and McAfee to mobile operators such as France Telecom and handset manufacturers like Nokia.

The market research group Infonetics predicts that sales of security software for mobile phones will grow 50 percent annually through 2014, totaling $ 2 billion.

"The market for mobile security in the future will be greater than the security of computers," said Neil Rimer, co-founder of Index Ventures fund, Geneva, told the Reuters Global Technology Summit. "Clearly people will pay to protect their devices, and the market will not be controlled by a great leader."

The fund invested in Rimer Lookout Mobile Security, created three years ago and already has over 2 million users for the security software that sells in Google Android Market and through partnerships with carriers like Verizon.

Hackers attack cell in countless ways. Can force the devices to send hundreds of text messages to payment services, to steal account information when people accessing bank sites or making fake phone calls from long distance.

The "fever" of applications, which leads people to download programs for all sorts of purposes, also brought new opportunities for action of hackers