Android App Steals Personal Data
According to the mobile security firm Lookout, an Android app that's been available in the Android Market for months steals personal data and sends it to a site in China.
Uploaded by Jackeey Wallpaper, the app in question included Star Wars and other branded wallpapers, and, according to Lookout, has been downloaded as many as 4.6 million times. Users, though, get a little more than a pretty sweet My Little Pony wallpaper when they install it.
Lookout says that the app captures the phone's SIM card number, subscriber id, and in some cases the voice mail password if it's programmed automatically into your phone. It then sends the data to a website, www.imnet.us, that's registered to an owner in China.
When installed, the app does ask for permission to access your phone calls (though why a user might thing a wallpaper app needs access to phone calls eludes us), but that's not exactly what we'd call a clear warning. And, with almost 50 percent of Android apps accessing third party code, most users seem more than willing to allow apps such access without thinking much about it.
We're guessing that's going to change, pony or no pony.
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