Security: Virus Targets Nintendo DS

Gaming systems are becoming the new targets of malicious Trojan viruses.
By Priya Ganapati
October 11, 2005

A Trojan virus disguised as a program that supposedly loads X-rated material is preying on the Nintendo DS handheld game console, security experts said Tuesday, making it the second security hazard to hit gamers in two weeks.

The malicious Trojan comes disguised as a program that promises to load “hentai,” a Japanese term for pornographic comics, cartoons, and games, onto the Nintendo DS. Once downloaded and run, the Trojan can delete system files in the gaming console and make it impossible to boot up, rendering it useless, security experts warned.

“These Trojans get onto a gaming system in the same way that malicious applications get onto a PC,” said Shane Coursen, senior technical consultant for Kaspersky Lab, a security software firm. “If an application has an underlying code that acts as a Trojan or virus, it can damage gaming systems if installed on it.”

So far, there are no clear numbers on how many gamers were infected as few victims report the infections. But the rate of infection is likely to be very low, said Dean Turner, senior manager of development at Symantec Security Response.

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