The Security Mentor

You need to think of them as computers, not as appliances. They're running general purpose operating systems. They have more storage and computer power than NASA had on the ground to support the moon landing, and are not far from a 1990s desktop computer.

Seattle-area security consultant Jon Espenschied writes in Computerworld about the dangers of malware, eavesdropping, and just plain bugs on smart phones and "converged devices". He gives well-researched detail about which cellular networks permit eavesdropping using gear that a private eye could afford, has good information about how hard it is to delete information from your phone so that it stays deleted, and outlines a few ways to mitigate the risks.