The Android Market has about 48,000 applications as of right now, of which 20% of that number has access to sensitive and/or private information according to a report released this past week by SMobile Systems.
Some of these applications can make calls and send text messages without the mobile owner doing anything. About 5% of the apps can make calls and 2% can send unknown SMS messages to premium numbers according to SMobile.
Many of these applications have the same type of sensitive information as spyware does including e-mails and text message content according to SMobile CTO Dan Hoffman. Yikes. Perhaps its time for Google to start closely monitoring applications that are submitted to their app store.
[CNET]