Concerns grow over cellphone security

People blithely use their phones and iPad-like devices to download applications, communicate wirelessly and surf the Internet. Threats to cellphones and iPad-like devices are uncommon now but are expected to increase, experts say.

"What I do is I make your phone (dial) a few premium-rate numbers at 'X' dollars a minute," said Richard Ford, director of Florida Tech's Harris Institute for Assured Information, "and I immediately make the money from that." It's not just a theory. Security software company Kaspersky Lab recently pointed out a malicious program that targets Google's Android operating system for phones. A link on adult sites prompts users to download a media player that requests permission to send text messages. Then it begins sending those messages at $6 a pop to a premium number.