It has always been said that the Android platform is unsafe for users. Some issue comes up at regular interval of time adding strength to this belief. Android is an open platform.

So, it is not require taking permission for incorporation of an app. This gives access to several unwarranted apps to find their place in the Android based appliances.

The latest news is that such apps have been encroaching user’s personal information stored on their devices. Paul Brodeur of Leviathan Security Group posted a blog on this issue. This blog post which was published last week clearly explained that several Android based apps are getting access to the user’s personal information stored at several places such as the device and external SD cards.

Paul Brodeur clearly explained how the apps are getting access to the sensitive information. In the demonstration he used an app which was not accorded permission by the user and secured access to several files on that device. He accessed all types of files that include photos, configuration files and back up files.

He showed that he could access files saved on external SD card also. It was also possible to secure access to files that were belonging to some other app also which have very weak certification procedures.

Paul Brodeur also showed that he could get information pertaining to the hand sets also. Generally, for accessing such information the app needs to have “Phone­­_State” permission. Brodeur proved that hand set information could also be easily accessed by such apps. Don’t be surprised if the information includes even the ID of SIM vendor.