Zombie phones coming?

A mobile phone worm has security experts debating whether phones will soon be used as remote senders of spam and cyber attacks.

The possibility of phone botnets stems from mobile malware called "Sexy View," a Symbian S60 OS program that was discovered six months ago. Phones infected by this program send SMS messages to other phones, users of which can then install the program themselves under the lure of pornographic material. Sexy View also managed to get approved by Nokia by subverting an automatic vetting process.

Now, a derivitave program called Sexy Space is raising eyebrows at Trend Micro, PC World reports. It’s capable of downloading new SMS spam templates from a remote server and can transmit subscriber and network information back. Infections are reportedly widespread in Saudi Arabia and China, but it’s not clear where the remote server is located.

There were reportedly "heated internal discussions" at Trend Micro as to whether these developments qualify as a botnet, but either way, Sexy Space is performing functions that no mobile malware has done before.

Regardless of the consensus by security experts on Sexy Space, it’s only a matter of time before a network of mobile phones become zombies, taken over for the purposes of sending spam, stealing data or attacking Web sites. Malware tends to follow consumers, and people are increasingly using cell phones for computing purposes.

The other takeaway is this: Be careful watching porn on your smartphone.