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."

Comments

They never answered the question...

[roc97007]

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...

Re:They never answered the question...

[Talderas]

The article only provides the percentages but doesn't include the raw numbers by which the percentages were derived. It is highly suggested by the article that since iOS has a kill switch the thefts of iOS were instead switched to non-iOS devices. That's where the raw data would be helpful and knowing how many of the thefts were iOS vs Android. Knowing the demographics of those who typically purchase iOS vs Android would also be helpful as well are those purchasing iOS less security savvy than those who purchase Android? Repeat victims that switched OSes is a factor that needs to be eliminated. You also need to know how the crime is usually perpetrated. Are these theft violent and using threats to get the phone from the victims or are they crimes of opportunity that occur because the device is left unattended?

Re:They never answered the question...

[unrtst]

This was more-or-less my same thought when reading the summary. Lies, damn lies, and statistics.
* iPhone theft down 19%
* Samsung theft up by 40%

That means absolutely nothing without additional context.

What if prior to the change period, iPhone theft was at 100,000 units a month, and samsung was at 10 units a month?
What about ratios (N% of activiated iPhone devices stolen per month vs N% of activated samsung devices)?
What about device classes (they just say "Samsung devices", without qualifying if those are even phones, let alone if that's just their Andriod phones, let alone if that's just certain models, etc)?
What about market changes? (did samsung sales increase while iPhone decreased, meaning there is a corrolation to availability / supply-and-demand?)

I wouldn't mind having an option for a kill switch (done "right"), remote wipe (via always-encrypted storage and wipe the key... and abilty to restore the key), lowjack, etc, but these numbers are garbage. They don't deserve to be included in the summary.

Who has the big red button?

[taikedz]

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?

Re:What about a kill switch for Google and Microso

[LordLimecat]

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/

Re:Are thieves that selective?

[fermion]

I would tend to agree. It may be that people are simply not using the iPhone. To show that the reduction in theft is caused by kill switch, one would have to show the rate of theft is not correlated to the rate of use, or to some other variable such as where of who the phones are used. For instance, if Android is used by younger or older population, it could be that the phones might just be left unprotected or easier to steal. Or if the Android phones are insured,it could be that people 'lose'. I know that some of these warranties cover theft but not screens. That said, there one can easily tell one phone from another if it is out being used. It makes little sense to steal an iPhone, not only because many are shipped out of the US and iPhones are not the most popular phone outside of the US, but also because of the ability to disable the phone. So while the hypothesis is not proven, it makes some sense. There are some stories about phone theft and loss of life. It may be apocryphal, or it may be a repeat of the shoe crisis of the late 20th century where kids were killed for their Jordans. We will see what happens when all phones have the kill switch. It could be a common sense way to make us safer. It could just be a way to stop warranty fraud.