Cabir, a new mobile phone virus, has been spreading around the world and has
finally hit the US mobile scene. The first phone spotted
with the virus was for sale in a shop in California. This virus is
spreading by handset to handset using Bluetooth, and has spread into 12
countries so far.

via vnu.net:

It was spotted on a handset in a store in California last week,
according to Mikko Hypponen, director of security company F-Secure, who
told Reuters that the store owner’s phone had also been infected.

Infected phones display the message ‘Caribe’ when turned on, and the
worm then looks for other Bluetooth connected handsets nearby that will
allow it to spread.

The biggest impact of the virus, which has around 15 variations so far,
is that it drains mobile phone batteries. Cabir was discovered in the
wild in August last year, and has spread gradually since then.

Earlier this month IBM predicted a surge in viruses targeting mobiles
this year, as Cabir is used by copycat virus writers to create an epidemic.

Big Blue also warned that viruses would target embedded computers,
including car and satellite communication systems.