Olympus confirms camera malware blooper

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Olympus has confirmed that some of its cameras in Japan have been sent out with malware on their internal memory cards.

The manufacturer told IT PRO that it is an isolated case, but the firm will continue to monitor the situation.

Olympus recommended that those with concerns should call the company’s helpline, which will let them know if their camera is carrying an infection.

The model in question is the Stylus Tough 6010, according to a Sophos report, and the autorun worm on the memory card can infect a Windows system if the device is plugged into a PC's USB drive.

An advisory from Olympus Japan has revealed that around 1,700 cameras are in danger of carrying malware. Customers can check if their device is carrying an infection by checking their serial number using a widget on the Olympus website, which is currently only in Japanese.

There has been a spate of recent incidents involving electronics being shipped with infections. Earlier this month, Samsung admitted that a number of its Wave smartphones containing malware had been distributed to the German market.

Last month, IBM committed a similar sin but with USB sticks in Australia.

“With such a long history of incidents like this, more companies need to wake up to the need for better quality control to ensure that they don't ship virus-infected gadgets,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

“At the same time, consumers should learn to always ensure Autorun is disabled, and scan any device for malware, before they use it on their computer,” the security expert added.

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