A recently discovered virus spreading amongst Android phones reportedly records users’ phone calls unbeknownst to them.

Discovered by CA Technologies (News - Alert) security researcher Dinesh Venkatesan, the malware automatically records outbound calls users make from their cell phones. As a specialist in mobile threats, Venkatesan tested the software “in a controlled environment with two mobile emulators running along with simulated Internet services,” according to his personal blog.

He also noted that he has seen a remarkable uptake in the proliferation of malware targeting mobile platforms. He stated, “As it is already widely acknowledged that this year is the year of mobile malware, we advise the smartphone users to be more logical and exercise the basic security principles while surfing and installing any applications.”

Using viruses and malware to record phone calls is not a new problem, but it is becoming more frequently recognized in cell phone use. Venkatesan gave no hint as to how the developers of the malware would actually go about retrieving the call recordings since they are recorded onto the SD card of the plagued phone, but he mentioned that that functionality could have potentially been built into the virus by the developer.

Juniper Networks (News - Alert) released a report a couple of months ago that mentioned that Symbian (News - Alert) and Microsoft Windows Mobile platforms were popular targets for these kinds of malware systems, but that it has been increasingly more clear that Apple iOS products and Google (News - Alert) Android devices are being heavily targeted this year as well.

Android software seems to be the more vulnerable of the two operating systems, with more worms out there now. Juniper warned that malware attacks could include “command and control zombies and botnet participators, devices that are remotely controlled to execute malicious attacks.”

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Juliana Kenny graduated from the University of Connecticut with a double degree in English and French. After managing a small company for two years, she joined TMC (News - Alert) as a Web Editor for TMCnet. Juliana currently focuses on the call center and CRM industries, but she also writes about cloud telephony and network gear including softswitches.

Edited by Tammy Wolf