TomTom devices shipped with malware says Sophos
IT security firm Sophos has highlighted reports that a number of TomTom GO 910 satellite navigation devices have been shipped with malware pre-installed.
An internet posting by British technology journalist Davey Winder contains a statement by TomTom acknowledging the incident. According to Sophos, TomTom SatNav devices are Linux-based, and cannot be infected by the malware. However, Windows users who connect to the device via their USB port risk could open up desktop PCs to the malicious code.
“There are a number of postings on the internet from TomTom purchasers asking for advice about the viruses, going back as far as September 2006,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. “But they are the lucky ones who were running an anti-virus product and caught the infection before it could cause too much harm. What’s more worrying is that there may be many innocent consumers out there who are unaware they have passed an infection onto their Windows PC.”
Sophos recommends that any storage device which is attached to a computer is checked for virus and other malware before use. Floppy disks, CD ROMs, USB keys, external hard drives and other devices are all capable of carrying malicious code that could infect the computers of innocent users.
Find out more at the Sophos website
