A virus may be calling

The newest computer virus threat isn't aimed at your computer. This time hackers are after your cell phone.

At least that's the belief of Symantec Corp., the maker of Norton antivirus software that participated in this week's RSA Conference on computer security in San Francisco.

Symantec said computer-like smart phones are vulnerable because they use PC-like operating system software, such as Windows Mobile and Symbian OS, that can be infected by viruses. By midyear, Apple's new iPhone will use a version of the Macintosh operating system.

"A lot of people who are cautious about PCs still view the cell phone as something that can't hurt them," said Paul Miller, California-based Symantec's managing director for mobile and wireless. "But smart phones are more like a computer attached to a network."

A new "snoopware" virus can enable remote hackers to eavesdrop on a smart-phone owner by remotely turning on the phone's microphone, Miller said. Snoopware programs designed for checking up on your spouse came out last year, he said.

Smartphones could be infected with snoopware through Web browsing, e-mail or Bluetooth, the short-range radio signal connecting phones to wireless earpieces, Miller said. Bluetooth infections might be spread by someone with an infected phone walking through a crowded airport, he said.

"Everything anyone tells you [when the phone is near] could end up in the public domain, and that could hurt your credibility," Miller said.

About 15 to 20 percent of the 2.6 billion cell phones in use worldwide are smart phones, Miller said. As a result, Symantec and other security firms are beginning to offer antivirus and firewall software for smart phones that can stop snoopware, he said.

But the root problem is that smart phone operating systems are an easy target for experienced PC hackers, Miller said.

"So you're going to drag the bad guys with you."