Major smartphone manufacturers and wireless carriers signed onto a partnership this week to integrate a “kill switch” into 2015 smartphones, allowing users to remotely deactivate their mobile devices in the case of loss or theft.
The partnership, led by wireless industry trade group CTIA, is called the “Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment.”
CTIA was careful to note on Wednesday that though there’s no mandate yet, smartphone companies are implementing kill switch functionality as of July 2015. However, the move is undoubtedly prompted by a U.S. Senate proposal that may soon make it a requirement that mobile devices include this technology or compatibility.
Kill switch advocates have put pressure on phone and wireless companies in part because of increasing smartphone theft across the country. According to the Federal Communications Commission, between 30 and 40 percent of all U.S. robberies involve mobile phone theft, leaving many people concerned about thieves taking not only their device but their personal data, as well.
Increasing Phone Security
While there has been some industry contention over allowing users to download and use a kill switch application, the vast majority of smartphone makers and wireless carriers signed on to the CTIA program: Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft, HTC as well as Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, AT&T and Verizon will all allow for kill switches next year, in addition to many smaller companies.
The new program requires that all phones made by those companies “come preloaded with (or offer the option to download) the so-called ‘kill switch’ function,” also known as a “baseline anti-theft tool.”
While the user won’t be required to use this function, it’s likely to be beneficial to many. At the moment, a stolen phone can be reused: while users can usually remotely lock their devices, the phone reverts to factory presets after a certain number of failed password attempts. If the user never finds his or her phone, it can be easily resold with factory settings.
Under the new partnership, however, an owner can remotely deactivate the phone, meaning that the thief won’t be able to resell it on the black market. If the owner simply loses his or her phone and later finds it, the phone can be reactivated and data restored, as long as it was previously saved to the cloud.
Data from Creighton University, reported in PC Magazine, suggests that including kill switch technology in smartphones could save $2.6 billion annually simply by way of a decrease in smartphone theft.
Upcoming Legislation
The partnership comes at the same time that state governments and the U.S. Senate are looking more closely at mobile phone security.
In February, law enforcement officials and politicians in California proposed a bill requiring kill switches for all phones sold within the state. Legislators cited an increasing number of mobile phone thefts at knife or gunpoint, saying that over half of San Francisco robberies and up to 75 percent of Oakland robberies are related to phones.
U.S. Senators introduced similar legislation soon after: bill 2032, “The Smartphone Prevention Act,” is currently up for debate. There’s not yet an estimated decision date for the bill.
Is It Enough?
Though it’s a step in the right direction, some argue that the kill switch isn’t enough to protect users.
Because phone owners have to opt-in to the new technology—by downloading the app or activating the program, much like a PIN number or password—it’s likely that many people won’t reap the benefits of the anti-theft partnership.
According to the Latin Post, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney General George Gascón believe that the kill switch should be automatically enabled, protecting users even if they forget or don’t bother to turn on the tool. The two men responded to the CTIA announcement with both praise for forward movement and disappointment that the anti-theft protection wasn’t taken further.
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