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Teen hacker claims making prototype Windows Phone 8 malware


Barely has Windows Phone 8 —Microsoft's newest operating system for smartphones— hit store shelves, a teen hacker already claims to have made a prototype malware targeting the OS.
 
Shantanu Gawde, who at 16 is known as India's “youngest ethical hacker,” is to unveil the malware prototype at the Malcon security conference in New Delhi later this month, security firm Sophos said.
 
"(L)ittle 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," security vendor Sophos' Paul Roberts said in a blog post.
 
Roberts said Gawde claims the prototype will run on smartphones running Windows Phone 8, adding this could be the first known instance of malware for the platform.
 
Gawde is also the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD), earning that designation at age seven.
 
In 2011, he presented a malware application that used Microsoft’s Kinect gesture recognition technology at the same conference, Sophos noted.
 
Roberts said Gawde’s presentation is expected to "demonstrate approaches and techniques" for infecting Windows Phone.
 
These include how to steal contacts, upload pictures and steal private data of users, and gain access to text messages.
 
But Roberts said Dave Forstrum, director at Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing, said Microsoft is aware of the upcoming presentation though further details have not been shared with them.
 
"As always, we will investigate any issues disclosed in the talk, and will take appropriate action to help protect our customers,” Roberts quoted Forstrum as saying.
 
Windows Phone 8 was released last Oct. 29, and supports higher screen resolution and multi-core processors, as well as Near Field Communications (NFC).
 
It also claims security features, including secure boot and native 128-bit Bitlocker encryption. — TJD, GMA News
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