Blackberry phones get eavesdropping spyware

BLACKBERRY USERS are being warned that a freely available spyware program will turn their crackberry into a listening device.

The application is called Phonesnoop and allows remote users to listen in on a Blackberry user's surroundings. The spyware app uses standard Blackberry APIs to intercept incoming calls. Once the software is installed, a call from a trigger phone number will activate the listening feature through the phone's built-in speakerphone feature to listen to everything that's going on around the phone.

The program's developer, Sheran Gunasekera, says on his blog that he only wanted to point out the dangers of using Blackberry phones carelessly.

The Phonesnoop app doesn't try to be stealthy, though. After it's installed it is clearly visible in the downloads section of the device's user interface. When the listening feature is activated the screen looks as though it is on a call. This is not hard to detect. The Inquirer