MOBILE PHONES FACE HACKING THREAT!

Accessing your bank account using your mobile phone might seem safe, but security experts say would-be hackers can access confidential information via a simple text message seemingly from your service provider. People in the industry aware of the risk see it as extremely small, as only a few people use handsets to access their bank accounts, but it is growing as mobile Internet usage rises. In April, the flaw -- which enables criminals to access a cellphone data connection, steal data or install or remove programmes -- gained wider attention at the BlackHat Europe security conference. "The hacker does not have to be especially skilled to do this," said Jukka Tuomi, chief technology officer at Finnish software firm ErAce Security Solutions. ErAce said that in some phones using Microsoft's Windows software, users cannot block the attack, while Symbian phone users can block malicious messages. However, in practice, most users accept an installation of new settings if they seem to be from an operator. So far, security problems on cellphones have been mostly limited to small outbreaks as operators have been able to screen the data traffic, but the new risk could be out of their reach in many countries where screening text messages is not allowed. Consumers' increasing fears over computer viruses' ability to attack cellphones can put at risk the takeup of new mobile services, which are crucial for operators looking for growth in mature markets, where call prices are falling.