A Georgia Tech Information Security Center study has revealed that spam and “other botnet-based attacks” may soon hit mobile phone users, The Washington Post reported Thursday. The research suggested that this may be due to mobile devices engaging more with Web-based data.

Mobile phone botnets would attack the “core” of the network, said Georgia Tech Assistant Professor Patrick Traynor. “But because the mobile communications field is evolving so quickly, it presents a unique opportunity to design security properly - an opportunity we missed with the PC.”

There may be insufficient security against such attacks and having adequate antivirus protection may utilise too much battery power.

“Most people have been trained to enter social security numbers, credit card numbers, (and) bank account numbers ... over the phone while interacting with voice response systems,” IBM Internet Security Systems Researcher Tom Cross told The Washington Post. “Criminals will exploit this social conditioning to perpetrate voice phishing and identity theft.”

The researchers mentioned that there has not been any hacking activity of the kind yet. However, the industry may have to look into future possibilities of protecting mobile phone users, according to The Washington Post.