Google and Microsoft are adding a “kill-switch” feature to their
Android and Windows phone
operating systems.
The feature is a method of making a
handset completely useless if it is
stolen, rendering a theft pointless.
Authorities have been urging tech
firms to take steps to help curb
phone theft and argued that a kill-
switch feature can help resolve the
problem.
Apple and Samsung, two of the
biggest phone makers, offer a similar
feature on some of their devices. The
move by Google and Microsoft means
that kill switches will now be a part
of the three most popular phone
operating systems in the world.
Smartphone theft has become a big
problem across the world. According
to a report by US authorities: some
3.1 million mobile devices were
stolen in the US in 2013, nearly
double the number of devices stolen
in 2012; one in three Europeans
experienced the theft or loss of a
mobile device in 2013; in South
Korea, mobile device theft increased
five-fold between 2009 and 2012;
and in Colombia, criminals stole over
one million devices in 2013.
A “hard” kill switch would render a
stolen device permanently unusable
and is favoured by legislators who
want to give stolen devices the
“value of a paperweight”. A “soft”
kill switch only make a phone
unusable to “an unauthorised user”.
Some argue that the only way to
permanently disable a phone is to
physically damage it.
RIGHT DIRECTION
Experts worry that hackers could find
a way to hijack a kill signal and turn
off phones, and if a phone is turned
off or put into aeroplane mode, it
might not receive the kill signal at
all.
Further, authorities claim that
Apple’s feature — dubbed Activation
Lock, which it introduced on all
iPhones running the iOS 7 operating
system in September last year — has
helped reduce theft substantially.
According to a report by the New
York State Attorney General, in the
first five months of 2014 the theft of
Apple devices fell by 17 per cent in
New York City. Meanwhile, iPhone
robberies fell 24 per cent in London
and 38 per cent in San Francisco in
the six months after Apple
introduced the feature, compared to
the previous six months.
“During the same period, thefts of
other popular mobile devices
increased,” the report says.
Mr Manoj Menon, managing director
of consulting firm Frost & Sullivan,
said the move was a step in the
right direction.
“[It] will go a long way in helping
authorities come one step closer to
realising a vision of zero theft of
mobile phones,” he said.
