It’s estimated that more than 85% of US consumer have a cell phone, and increasingly those cell phones are smart phones. But just because your phone is smart, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s smart enough to be secure.

There are more than a dozen ways your smart phone, and any other cell phone, can expose you to risks, and here’s a small sample:

Wi-Fi – One of the great advantages of my iPhone is that it can detect nearby Wi-Fi  networks that might allow me to piggy-back for free on a faster data network. But that can open the door very wide to hackers and unscrupulous network operators who can use that Wi-Fi access to access your phone, online bank accounts, and credit card payments.

Trojans and other malware – Security experts have just discovered the first Trojan malware targeted at the Android phone operating system. Which means the bad guys see Android-powered smart phones as a target worth hacking.

Hacking your email database – If hackers can’t actually hack directly into your phone, they can hack into the network your phone operates on, and in doing so hack into your emails. Which is exactly what happened to thousands of iPad users a few months ago.

Rootkits – Researchers at Rutgers University recently demonstrated an attack where a very specialized form of malware called a rootkit was able to infect a smart phone and eavesdrop on its owner – by remotely turning on the phone’s microphone and camera without the owner’s knowledge.

Caller ID spoofing – Smart phones are increasingly being used for phone-based banking, so imagine if hackers were able to call your phone and, using Caller ID spoofing, trick you into believing that it’s your bank calling. It’s already being done, and could pose a real threat to the future of phone banking.

Spam – If your phone is smart then it’s essentially a small handheld computer, with internet and email access. Hackers can use that access to turn smart phones into text and email spam machines.

Facebook scams – Many smart phones are now able to access Facebook pages and allow users to leave comments on their pages, upload photos, and access links provided by their friends. If those links are malicious, and they increasingly are, you may be giving hackers direct access to your phone and everything on it.

App risks – There are now millions of smart phone apps in circulation (as of June 2010 Apple claimed that more than 5 million apps had been download from its iStore), and any one of those apps can be written and delivered by a hacker.

Lessons learned?

• Just like your computer, be very wary of anything you download to your smart phone.

• If you use your smart phone for online banking, make sure you understand the risks and follow any security guidelines provided by your bank.

RELATED STORIES: Cell Phones — Easy ID Theft Targets

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/16/earlyshow/leisure/gamesgadgetsgizmos/main6777133.shtml

http://spotlight.getnetwise.org/wireless/wirelessguide.pdf

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