Emma Woollacott writes:
Nearly ten thousand Android applications give third party apps access to private or sensitive information, says a report from SMobile Systems.
One in five of the 48,000 apps available grants a third party application access to private or sensitive information that an attacker could use for malicious purposes, such as identity theft, mobile banking fraud and corporate espionage.
Five percent have the ability to place a call to any number without requiring user intervention, and two percent allow an application to send premium SMS messages. Eight applications explicitly request a specific permission that would allow the device to brick itself.
Read more on TechEye.net
Update of June 24: See the story on ZDnet that criticizes the original SMobile report. PogoWasRight.org apologizes to its readers and to Android for just accepting the report without more critical examination.