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Battle over a smartphone kill switch
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Carriers block smartphone 'kill switch'
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Wireless carriers are pushing back against kill switch features for smartphones
- A kill switch could disable stolen devices, making them worthless and discouraging phone theft
- Some say carriers don't want a switch because it would cut into money they make off insurance
Called a kill switch,
this type of feature already exists and could be included on
smartphones. It would be triggered by the phone's owner with his or her
user name and password if the device goes missing or is stolen.
Major U.S. wireless
carriers, though, have pushed back against the idea of a kill switch.
They claim that the feature could be exploited by hackers and that, once
triggered, it would be difficult to undo.
Proponents argue that the
process is completely reversible, and that the real reason carriers
don't want the feature is that they would lose money on insurance plans,
reactivation of resold phones, and sales of replacement phones.
"I think that this is motivated by profit," said San Francisco district attorney George Gascon.
Along with New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman, Gascon heads up the Secure Our Smartphones
Initiative, a coalition of law enforcement officials and other parties
from across the U.S. The group is pushing smartphone makers and the
wireless industry to take more actions to protect consumers from
smartphone theft.
Smartphone theft has been
on the rise across the United States in recent years, and in many cases
it can turn violent. In San Francisco, 67% of robberies are related to
mobile devices, according to the police department. Ten percent of phone
owners have had a phone stolen, according to a Harris poll, and in
2012, 1.6 million Americans were victims of smartphone theft, according
to Consumer Reports.
The Secure our
Smartphones initiative has been working with Samsung to get a kill
switch included on the South Korean company's handsets, an effort that
recently hit a major obstacle.
"We have seen e-mails
that indicate that the carriers refuse to allow Samsung to put a
third-party solution in their phones," said Gascon, referring to e-mails
between Samsung and a developer.
Theft, in its own way,
is a moneymaker for wireless carriers. For example, for $7 a month,
smartphone owners can get an insurance plan with their device purchased
through AT&T that will cover theft, as well as loss and accidental
damage.
Resold phones are
profitable to carriers when they're reactivated by new owners, and
consumers who don't have insurance will often pay full price for a new
device through the carriers.
"We are working with the
leaders of the Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S.) Initiative to
incorporate the perspective of law enforcement agencies. We will
continue to work with them and our wireless carrier partners towards our
common goal of stopping smartphone theft," said Samsung in a statement.
The major U.S. carriers
declined to comment for this story, standing behind a statement from
CTIA-The Wireless Association, an industry group that represents
wireless companies.
"CTIA and its member
companies worked hard over the last year to help law enforcement with
its stolen phone problem," said CTIA Vice President Jamie Hastings in a
statement. "The industry, with direction from the Federal Communications
Commission, law enforcement officials from major cities and other
policymakers worked collaboratively to develop a proactive, multifaceted
approach to dry up the aftermarket for stolen phones."
The organization
outlined the anti-theft actions it does support. One of its primary
alternatives to a kill swtich is a global database of smartphones that
would make it harder for a stolen device to be reactivated. But unless
all the carriers around the world participate, thieves can continue to
ship stolen devices to other countries and sell them there.
The CTIA is also pushing
the use of remote tracking and wiping apps, educating owners on
preventing theft, and asking for stronger legal penalties for smartphone
thieves.
One company is powerful enough to add the feature without carrier approval: Apple. The company successfully introduced a kill-switch-like option called Activation Lock to iPhones and iPads with the release of its latest mobile operating system, iOS 7.
"Apple has been able to show the industry that this can be done," said Gascon.
Unlike makers of Android
phones, Apple controls all aspects of its devices, including the
hardware to the operating system. Because iPhones are so popular and
profitable for carriers, Apple has been able to dictate what features
are included on its devices. Apple is also leading the way on theft
prevention because its devices are the most popular target for
smartphone thieves.
Manufacturers like
Samsung are navigating a more complicated system. The added kill-switch
feature would be added by Samsung to the Google Android operating system
already on the device. They need to sell those altered devices to
carriers, which have the power to say no.
While law enforcement in
the U.S. evaluates the next steps in the battle against smartphone
theft, it can look outside the U.S. for inspiration. South Korea
recently introduced an act that would require all domestic smartphone
manufactures, including LG and Samsung, to include a kill switch feature
on devices sold in the country.
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