Veracode security researchers have demonstrated a proof-of-concept BlackBerry spyware application that can access a user's contacts, text messages, emails, phone usage and GPS data.

 

"As far as we know, this is the first public release of source code that demonstrates such a broad range of malicious functionality on a BlackBerry device," Veracode's Chris Eng wrote in a blog post. "Code reviewers and security practitioners can use it as an educational resource to help them recognize malicious behavior and understand the specific risks introduced."

 

"As for the bad guys, it would be naive to think that they don’t already know how to do this stuff," Eng added. "The code doesn’t go out of its way to be stealthy; in fact, it’s quite the opposite (by design)."

A video demo of the spyware app can be viewed here.