RIM Fixes Blackberry Phishing Vulnerability

Research In Motion (RIM) has come out with a security fix for a reported vulnerability in its BlackBerry smartphone range which apparently left its users susceptible to possible phishing attacks. 

RIM has urged it users to immediately apply the fix in order avoid becoming victims of malicious phishing attacks and users can check for updates by visiting RIM’s website.  

The reported flaw could be used by a hacker to trick a BlackBerry user to visit a malicious web site by essentially making the device think that the site visited is a trusted one.  

Essentially the flaw revolved around the inability of the BlackBerry software to correctly depict null characters which allowed hackers the option of creating sites which had null characters in the site’s certification field and thereby hoodwink the device.  

Taking a note of increasing incidents of phishing, RIM has also cautioned its users against clicking on suspicious links in SMS messages and emails as such links can lead them to malicious websites. 

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Mobile handsets are increasingly targeted by cyber criminals who are attempting to steal critical information stored in them and smartphones are often a preferred target as many people who use such phones store credit card details in them.