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Google and Microsoft Plan Kill Switches On Smartphones
itwbennett (1594911) writes "Responding to more than a year of pressure, Google and Microsoft will follow Apple in adding an anti-theft "kill switch" to their smartphone operating systems. In New York, iPhone theft was down 19 percent in the first five months of this year. Over the same period, thefts of Samsung devices — which did not include a kill switch until one was introduced on Verizon-only models in April — rose by over 40 percent. In San Francisco, robberies of iPhones were 38 percent lower in the six months after the iOS 7 introduction versus the six months before, while in London thefts over the same period were down by 24 percent. In both cities, robberies of Samsung devices increased. 'These statistics validate what we always knew to be true, that a technological solution has the potential to end the victimization of wireless consumers everywhere,' said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon."
We should be able to deactivate the companies when they do something evil. Although I guess these days, we'd be constantly pressing the button.
Especially Google. They're a plague on privacy :(
We need to get rid of the thieves.
How does stealing smartphones relate to other types of crime? Is it really a thing at all? TFA gives percentage increases but no way to relate that to number of consumers, or actual monetary impact, so there's no way to tell if this is significant, or if it's a problem the average person is likely to run into.
People being hit by falling pianos up 100% this year!
It seems pretty obvious that this is being pursued because it gives the semblance of government helping consumers while at the same time giving government one more tool they can use to control the population. Because gee, that's never happened before...
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Samsung should be able to do that. no?
No really... Apple has a patent on the kill switch. http://siliconangle.com/blog/2...
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
And you have an awfully long way until I could even consider trusting you, so no, I do not want you to have final say over my phone. Do your job: Catch, prosecute and punish the criminals.
Whilst all this may be valid and true, how are we going to prevent the "wrong people" from using this kill switch? Will it be hardware based, in which case, how will we be sure it won't be triggered/used remotely if we install a different OS on the device? Or if some script kiddie found a way of activating it by exploiting an insecure app?
(new hollywood armaggedon scenario: terrorists threaten to detonante a phone bomb that would activate kill switches around the world, bringing down entire civilizations)
Yes, a technological solution might exist for the problem; question is, is this one the right one? Are we going to stop looking for alternatives?
-- "Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability." --Dijkstra
Certainly it would be to your benefit to know if the device you're risking your freedom for is worth the effort. But I had thought that phone thefts were largely crimes of opportunity: you see the phone unguarded and you take it. I wouldn't think you have all that long to judge what kind of phone it is.
I suppose maybe these are just professionals, good at their jobs, who have heard that the fences aren't taking some brands any more because it's not worth it. But I wonder if there's some other factor besides the kill switches that accounts for the data.
With the data collected there is reasonable proof that failure to provide an "off" capability is actually a cause of incidents and just might mean that people who were injured might be entitled to relief from the manufacturer.
TFA is why I have a cheap-assed Android phone.
If it gets stolen, the thing gets remote-wiped five minutes later and I'm only out $150. less than an hour later I can mosey to the store, get another one, and be back on the network with the same phone number, with everything sync'd back up.
I actually don't mind it when other whip out the new shinies, because I know they're paying through the nose for 'em, and to be honest, there really isn't anything in latest/greatest that blows my dress up. *shrug*
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
Coming soon to Android and Windows devices: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tec...
Brave Sir Robin ran away. ("No!") Bravely ran away away. ("I didn't!")
If there's a Boston-type bombing, they would want to shut down cell phones in the area. That might even be a legitimate use, but next they'll want to use it preemptively around the President, then at the Superbowl.... and suddenly we've got tyranny.
Real programmers use "copy con program.exe"
Except that theyre the only one not cooperating with governments like China these days. Microsoft has been in agreements with them for years.
Its amazing the spin that people put on reality, whre Google is the one you need to worry about/
Apple's solution, which is non-intrusive and leaves you in control: you register all phones with iCloud. When you have Find my iPhone switched on, the phone can ONLY be registered to another account by entering the password of the original account. No matter how much you reset it. Also, you cannot switch off Find my iPhone. If you reinstall, you won't even notice (except the prompt says you have to register with this account), and if somebody else takes it over, it tells you to switch it off (forcing password entry) beforehand.
There is no big red button.
People stopped using the original iPod/iPhone headsets (which are very recognizable) because of the risk of theft a couple years ago. Now, it's more of a safeguard.
So much for peaceful demonstrations, and out Right to Assembly.
BTW, are you wondering, why instead a national database of stolen phones is not created, so no stolen phone cannot be activated?
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
I added an IO device that overloads the battery so the phone explodes.
Support my political activism on Patreon.
There goes the right of first sale.
Perhaps my post title is wrong, and 'right of first sale' is actually the intended victim after all...
Anyway, this makes my work for the pawn shop, unlocking devices people lost to hock, a bit more challenging.
Of course, it would help if they'd stop taking in iPads without getting the iCloud password... damn college kids... /rant
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Bah. They are both terrible. Google gets the blame for pushing personal information gathering to new heights. Everyone else is seeing what they are getting away with and are following suit.
Brave Sir Robin ran away. ("No!") Bravely ran away away. ("I didn't!")
Especially in large group demonstrations, it's amazing how everyone's communication devices are just magically whisked away, dump all personal data straight onto a criminal-record-like autocomplete form, and shut down from having been stolen!
that a technological solution has the potential to end the victimization of wireless consumers everywhere
Does that include the victimization the phone companies are doling out with their 2 year plans, termination fees, data caps and generally shitty service?
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
'These statistics validate what we always knew to be true, that a technological solution has the potential to end the victimization of wireless consumers everywhere,' said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon."
Correlation? Probably.
Causation? Possibly, but I'd argue that the ubiquitous nature of smart phones, and significant decrease in pricing has just as much, if not more to do with it.
Just another day in Paradise
It's really a way for the Gov to be able shut off large numbers of phone should an event happen that they
don't want people to be able to use their phones during - thus making the subjects unable to coordinate their
activities via cell phones. my 2 cents. Think about it...
If only the owner holds the key to kill a device, ( and can be given to a new owner.. ) then i'm ok with it as its my device, my control.
If i dont get total control over its use, then leave it off my phone/tablet/etc.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Too bad they can't put a kill switch on hand guns. That would stop a lot of crime.
If the user/owner controls the switch? Great. But if the carrier/government does? No.
I'd love to have a kill-switch in my phone that, when receiving a code that only I have would result in a wipe and disabling of the device. That way if the government comes along and steals my property, I can do something about it. "Tampering with evidence?" No, that was a "malfunction" and we just lost the hard drives.
Doesn't Google already have this? The Android Device Manager lets you remotely locate, lock or find your device. Is there something more to this 'kill switch'? Does it permanently disable the phone?
Wood Shavings!
- Godai
Nothing more to say.
Well this is a truly disheartening decision -- not that I own a smartphone, but the "principal" behind the move is scary indeed. What's to prevent law enforcement from arbitrarily hitting the kill switch on political dissidents? What's to prevent a criminal from hitting the kill switch on prospective victims before they can call the police? What's to stop a telecomm provider from hitting the killswitch on delinquent accounts? This move by the government to mandating killswitch technology in cellphone is an unhidden attempt to usurp even more power from the citizens in the digital age. The move of cellphone manufacturer's to voluntarily impliment such technology shows a wholesale failure to protect consumer interests. Is iphone theft really that big of a problem? A few solutions: don't use them in sketchy places -- Aside from your iphone, do you usually flaunt valuable possessions worth upwards of hundreds of dollars in public? No? So then why is your iphone the exception? Please excersize more practical thinking in public. An industry-wide solution? Stop inflating the prices of these portable computers to the point where criminals are incentivized to steal them. I can buy a better computer than the iphone for half the price, let's get real for a second, there is no credible reason why the iphone is so expensive other than Apple is greedy for the money. You want iphone thefts to decrease? Instead of arming every single iphone with a killswitch, why not lower its price? You don't believe me that the price is inflated? Have you ever stopped to wonder why smarthphones come standard with TWO cameras now? No thanks, I only need one camera at a time. If you want to inflate the price of my phone by introducing arbitrary camera enhancements, give me ONE camera which is twice as good, not TWO cameras which are just as shitty. At this rate, I will never buy a "smartphone" -- Not worth my time, not worth my money, not worth the spying, not worth the change in personality. Get real, people.
Diff is, ms may violate my privacy by sharing w china. Google violates my privacy by recording everything I do and analyze it to make money. More disturbing, they try to only show me the portion of the internet they think would be most profitable. Try doing the same google search on different computers.
this is why I don't use gmail, chrome, google docs, android, or nest.
We are starting to hear stories about people who had their phones stolen in Scandinavia, getting calls from Eastern Europe where the new "owners" of the phone wants the password for iCloud so they can use the phone.
Some have offered a small amount of money to get their password others have been angry with the rightful owner that they couldn't use their phone. Go figure.
So, making money off you is now more evil than turning your data over to a government that can (and has an alleged history of) make(ing) you* disappear? Interesting.
(Assuming you're Chinese, but even if not, remember the old poem:"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist.)
"If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." - Every fascist, ever
Too bad they can't put a kill switch on hand guns. That would stop a lot of crime.
They can. Unfortunately the NRA is against such technology because "Obama wants to confiscate our guns!".
Enigma
if the drop in theft of one device and the rise in theft of a competing device both seem to hinge on the same event, then it does stand to reason that the event (the release of iOS7) is the reason... but why would we believe it is this specific feature? Given the security issues and complaints that accompanied iOS7 when it released, isn't there another reasonable explanation? Perhaps iOS devices became somewhat less popular and the Samsung devices filled that void? I'm just saying, there is a correlation for sure, but there's not compelling evidence that the implied cause is correct.
Except that theyre the only one not cooperating with governments like China these days. Microsoft has been in agreements with them for years.
Keep up with current events, young'un - Google did an about-face on China over a year ago.
Google Shows China the White Flag of Surrender
Google hasn't been the "don't be evil" company for quite a while.
#DeleteChrome
Microsoft also records everything, and last time I checked their privacy policy was MUCH less robust than Google's.
And for the record Google offers you the option to opt out of targetted advertising. You'll still get ads, but they stop tracking all of that info.
Having government institutions with control over something as private as a cell phone is not a good idea.
This idea that government will make you safe, as long as you have no rights seems to be on the menu of the times we live in.
It will end up serving the same ole dish:
Death, misery and more chaos.
Bye bye Human Race, was really nice knowing you, don't forget to write about it in the fossil record.
Got Geometrodynamics? Awe, too hard to figure out? Too bad.
In December, it got rid of the measure which notified Chinese users when keywords they were searching for would trigger the country's Great Firewall content blocking system – without telling its users
Sorry, thats not "cooperating" with China. They still do not provide any assistance for the Chinese government looking for dissident info, which is the source of continued strained relationships between the CCP and Google. In fact, China just this month has completly cut the cord to all Google services from mainland China because of Google's continued non-cooperation; there IS no "google.cn", becuase they moved all of their servers to Hong Kong (which still has some semblence of freedom), and apparently people outside of Hong Kong cant reach it. All they stopped doing in December 2012 is notifying users when their Google search terms were tripping the GFW-- and as I recall there were technical reasons for that.
Microsoft, on the other hand, continues to cooperate with China, particularly with their Skype program. The TOM group collaborates with them to release a backdoored version of Skype in China (bolstered by a DNS redirect for www.skype.com to skype.tom.com) that reports everything you do back to big brother.
There is no other big company out there which fights tooth and nail like Google does. Yahoo was the first to kow tow to China's demands, and at this point all of the major providers except for Google are in full cooperation.
My understanding is you can opt out of receiving targeted ads, but they still vacuum up all of your details. You can't opt out of this. All you can do is surf in private mode and not log in to google services, or take your business everywhere.
It such a shame to have anything M$ related on computer. We've seen articles about people with low IQ and elderly using IE to check email.
Gross!
The reason samsungs phone theft went up was the people stelling them thought they were iphones.
Gadgets are also mass-produced devices everyone has, and not as valuable as they were when they had that aura of being a toy for the rich. Now everyone and his grandmother already has a smartphone, so why steal one?
I'd like to see the statistics for thefts of wristwatches. I imagine that they nosedived over the past few years, because people don't wear them much any longer because everyone has a phone with a clock.
Do not want.
Here's the real Occum's Razor here:
Does the "kill switch" remotely disable the mobile/cellular capabilities of the phone? Or does it completely disable the device, thus bricking it?
These are smartphones, and they're used by many people for more than just a phone. I'd even argue that the function used the least on these devices, is the actual phone itself.
I rarely see someone having an actual voice conversation on a phone these, days, but people spend hours and hours doing everything else with them.
So if there's a civil uprising, martial law, and the .gov decides to shunt an entire city (Boston Bombers anyone? Greece? Turkey last year?, we've seen this many times already), then they also render these devices inert for much more than just communications devices.
- My ex-wife can no longer monitor her blood sugar (Type 1 diabetic, 100% digitally monitored via iPhone)
- Digital locks on your home no longer are able to be unlocked (keyless entry with NFS, etc.)
- Credit card information, details, photos, videos, other data is now unavailable
The chilling effect of this alone, should cause hundreds of thousands of people to step up and march on their congressperson's front door.
The potential abuses of this are so far reaching, far superseding the cost of replacing a phone handset that happens to get stolen.
I'd rather see the funding go into a user-driven device locating capability, with remote wipe/reporting on the other end instead of a remote kill switch controlled by corporations and the .gov.
Very scary stuff happening here. Verrrrry scary.
Or more accurately, the NRA doesn't want killswitches on handguns because when your life or death depends on a device working as expected all the time without obstacles, it is a good idea not to have a killswitch.
Or you can take the simple-minded approach and say "all gun owners are crazy, thanks MSNBC" or you can realize that an attacker can remotely disable your gun, thus killing you.
You don't want to die, do you? So I wouldn't put a killswitch on my gun...
While we're on the topic of guns and self defense and iphone theft, here's an idea: there would be a lot less iphone theft if a lot more iphone owners were armed (with any weapon, be it a knife, a stick or a gun)
I'm talking Apple specific here but the number of iPhones openly advertised on eBay as "bad IMEI" is beyond a joke. That fact alone and that eBay does nothing to curb this practice tells you something right there. Combine that with the fact that these "bad IMEI" phones still command a very high price, almost as high as a "clean" phone shows that the market in stolen phones is still very much alive. Despite Apples' best efforts at implementing this kill switch, the second hand iPhone market has now become a gamble, because what you see is just the tip of the ice berg. Leaving aside the more "honest" sellers that openly advertise the phone as "bad IMEI", you have to consider the remaining sellers that son't explisitly state that. You buy a second hand iPhone and it may have a bad IMEI or be iCloud locked to the previous legal owner and you have no way of knowing that in advance. When Android and MS implement kill switches this current iPhone situation will only just expand to the other platforms. I don't see a reduction in thefts as long as stolen phones still command a hefty resale price, kill switch or not.
guess I'll be planning a "kill-switch" kill-switch.
The real issue, in my opinion, as someone who supports roughly 100 iPhone users, is that;
A: Our business was never informed this was coming in.
B: We have not been presented with a workable solution to disable this kill switch.
If a user turns on "Find My iPhone" the device is semi permanently locked to their iCloud account. This cannot be blocked by MDM. We have a high staff turnover, and people will not provide us with their iCloud passwords to disable the kill switch. The result is a 7 - 10 day turnaround on returned phones as we provide apple with proof of purchase to unlock.
If Windows Phone or Androids solution can at least be disabled, it will be far superior for the the enterprise.
Actually an iphone 4S meets your parameters... last one I got cost $135. It can be remote wiped, and restored rather quickly. A lot better build quality than a "cheap-assed" (sic) Android phone...
I was very worried about Google until Facebook decided they could serve their users better if they knew everything about them. Suddenly, I'm less focused on Google's licensedconcealed handgun in the bank and more on Facebook's cache of black market assault rifles they've got locked up with them in the bell tower. Ok, not the best analogy, but I couldn't think of one involving a car...
Similar to Kill Switches,Microsoft is expereincing a whole new phase of innovations all around which is evident from the facts brought in light by NICK PARKER(Corporate Vice President) during his adress at COMPUTEX...for more info go to http://www.ciol.com/