As Phones Do More, They Become Targets of Hacking

This year, the Russian antivirus company Kaspersky Lab reported on a new malicious program that stole money by taking over Nokia phones and making small charges to the owners’ wireless accounts.

Last month, an Australian student created an experimental worm that hopscotched across “jailbroken” iPhones, which are phones altered to run software Apple has not authorized. The mischievous worm did not cause any damage; it just installed a photo of the ’80s pop star Rick Astley. But to security experts, it suggested that pernicious attacks on iPhones are possible.