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Nokia releases 'bluesnarfing' fix

Nokia today released a software update that fixes a well known Bluetooth security flaw. This flaw is more than six months old, but hey at least it got patched. The phones affected are the Nokia 6230, 6650, 6810, 6820, and 7200. According to News.com "Nokia did not say exactly where customers might get the patches, or whether they will be able to apply the fixes themselves."

More than six months after acknowledging a Bluetooth security flaw in a number of its mobile phones, Nokia said it has released a software upgrade that fixes the vulnerabilities in some of its products.

In February, Nokia and Sony Ericsson admitted that some of their Bluetooth-enabled phones were vulnerable to "bluesnarfing," which means that an attacker could read, modify and copy the phone's address book and calendar without leaving any trace of the intrusion. Some handsets contain an even more serious vulnerability that allows the phone to be "taken over" by the attacker, who could then use it to make phone calls, send text messages and modify the handset's settings.

Once the problems were discovered, Sony Ericsson offered to update any affected handsets, but Nokia said it did not think the vulnerabilities were serious enough to warrant an upgrade. However, following pressure from customers, Nokia announced in May that it would provide a software upgrade in "the summer" but did not set a firm date for its release. On Thursday, Nokia confirmed that it had released updates for five of its handsets and reiterated that it will issue fixes for all remaining vulnerable devices by the end of the summer. Fixes are now available for the Nokia 6230, 6650, 6810, 6820 and 7200, the company said in a statement.

News source: C|Net News.com

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