Nokia asks operators to filter e-mails to counter Curse of Silence exploit
In response to the recently revealed Curse of Silence bug that affects the majority of Nokia’s S60-based smartphones (S60 3rd Edition FP1 and earlier), Nokia has asked a number of operators to block incoming SMS to users containing lengthy e-mail addresses.
This is the closest to an easy fix one can get, because prevention will always be better than cure. It is effective in that the exploit requires a carefully tweaked SMS with a certain e-mail in it in order to work and render the “victim” of the Curse of Silence unable to receive any incoming SMS/MMS.
Nokia doesn’t want to disclose which providers it has been in touch with for the SMS with e-mail filtering, but reports have noted that T-Mobile in the Netherlands was one to happily comply.
As for a firmware update that fixes this bug, don’t expect it to happen. Mark Durant from Nokia’s head office in Finland comments, “That it is not an effective solution. Many users do upgrade their firmware, but many do not.”
Via Darla Mack
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