A virus that spreads from PCs to mobile devices has become the focus of a power play between the antivirus industry and the relatively young Mobile Antivirus Research Association, which obtained the only sample of the program. The Mobile Antivirus Research Association, a collection of professors, authors and security professionals, announced it had “characterized’ the first program to spread from PCs to a mobile device, a virus dubbed Crossover. In a rare occurrence in computer-virus circles, MARA appears to be the only organization to obtain a copy of the program–normally, such virus samples are sent by the creator to the major antivirus firms and shared among virus experts. The exclusive access to the virus, and MARA’s insistence that companies join its membership before being given access to the code, has antivirus companies up in arms. Among other rules, the document would have required that the company share its entire database of virus samples, Hyppönen said. However, without the agreement, the Mobile Antivirus Research Association would not know if a new member would abide by the rules, said member and spokesperson Cyrus Peikari, the author of five books on security and the CEO of security firm Airscanner. “Malware trading, which is illegal in many countries, should be done with a written chain of custody,” Peikari said.