With viruses becoming an increasing threat over mobile networks, security companies have begun looking for ways to get their new mobile anti-viral software into handsets. At least one security company, McAfee has zeroed in on firmware-over-the-air (FOTA) technologies as a way to maintain security software on the handset.

McAfee has partnered with two companies, InnoPath and Bitfone, to develop anti-viral update technology that will bring critical patches and anti-viral update files to phones over the network.

“Anti-virus is a natural extension of our technology,” said David Sym-Smith, senior vice president of marketing and business development for InnoPath. “Your anti-virus solution is only as good as your last upgrade. So upgrades have to be pushed out to subscribers immediately. 28 hours later it doesn’t matter--you’re already infected.”

While viruses have not done much serious damage over wireless, attacks over the network are expected to become more frequent and intense as the hacker community perfects its code and smartphones become more prevalent. What viruses that have appeared, however, have shown their ability to mutate quickly. The Cabir worm, which has struck Symbian-based Series 60 devices on a dozen countries now, has gone through multiple variations in the space of a few days. Developing a viral definitions for those variants and pushing them out as quickly as possible to users will become top priorities among carriers, Sym-Smith said.

Bitfone’s solution is going beyond software updates to mobile diagnostics. Bifone has integrated McAfee’s diagnostic toolkit directly into its Smartcare solution, which will allow a carrier or enterprise to scan for viruses on a handset remotely and then push a security patch onto a phone if it detects that the OS has been compromised. Combined with bulk distribution of updates, the solution provides a two-pronged approach to protecting smartphones, said Jason Penkethman, director of product strategy for Bitfone.