Software out to attack Android cell phones

London: According to Lookout, a US-based security firm, more than 80 Google Android wallpaper apps were collecting mobile phone numbers and personal details, including unique subscriber numbers, according to a report by The Telegraph.

Many of the apps also "dialled home" to their developers, transmitting unencrypted sensitive data back to remote servers.


One such app, called Jackeey wallpaper, was downloaded millions of times, and sent data back to China according to Kevin MaHaffey, Lookout's chief technology officer. The company presented its findings at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas earlier this week.

The Jackeey wallpaper app provided themed Star Wars and My Little Pony Wallpaper, said Lookout, but it also collected information about the user's phone number, unique identifier and voicemail number, before beaming back this data to a server in China.

However, Lookout stressed that there was no no evidence that this data had been collected or used for malicious purposes. Google said it had suspended the app.