{"id":21300,"date":"2014-05-19T13:03:03","date_gmt":"2014-05-19T18:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcitement.com\/?p=21300"},"modified":"2014-05-19T13:03:03","modified_gmt":"2014-05-19T18:03:03","slug":"killswitch-engage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/hardware\/killswitch-engage\/","title":{"rendered":"Killswitch Engage!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey, remember Killswitch Engage<\/a>? The metalcore band formed back in 1999 from bands like Aftershock and Overcast? Not as popular as Atreyu? Those guys. Well, this article isn’t about them.<\/p>\n

\"Shut<\/a>

Shut it, Seagal, it’s not always about you, either!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is about why your cellphone doesn\u2019t have a remotely activated kill switch that you can use to brick your phone when it gets stolen. Now that seemingly everyone everywhere has a smartphone, (1 Billion smartphones were sold in 2013 alone<\/em>), smartphone thefts are becoming an epidemic. So, why doesn\u2019t your phone have the means to report its whereabouts? Or remotely deactivate?<\/p>\n

Recently, in Sacramento, CA, State Senator Mark Leno reintroduced measure SB962, which required manufacturers or cellphone carriers to have a kill switch feature, at least in California. The bill had previously been voted down<\/a>, but with its reintroduction, was passed 25 to 8, up from the previous 19 votes of the necessary 21.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a (somewhat alarmist) letter written by CTIA<\/a>, The Wireless Association (a telecom lobbying group) on behalf of every large Silicon Valley company in the cellphone business — including Apple, Samsung, Verizon, AT&T, and Microsoft, among others — said kill switch technology should only be made available to customers who want it, not mandated.<\/p>\n

This could be used to disable entire groups of customers, such as Department of Defense, Homeland Security or emergency services\/law enforcement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the biggest proponents of the bill, and other measures like this, has been exactly some of these groups,\u00a0including the California District Attorney\u2019s Association, California Police Chiefs Association, and BART police. Apple and Microsoft have since removed their opposition from the bill, further weakening the CTIA’s argument.<\/p>\n

San Francisco District Attorney George Gasc\u00f3n, one of the bill’s sponsors, welcomed CTIA’s response but said it falls short of what’s necessary to fight rampant cellphone theft, because those types of apps don’t work as crime deterrents.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSmartphones have infiltrated virtually every aspect of our daily lives, but there’s nothing smart about devices that attract violent crime when the technology to end this epidemic is readily available,\u201d said San Francisco District Attorney, George Gasc\u00f3n in a statement back in February. \u201cThe industry is profiting at the expense and safety of wireless consumers everywhere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gasc\u00f3n\u00a0has also made the point that manufacturers like Apple and cell-phone providers make billions annually from theft insurance plans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>

I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

From that same statement by Gasc\u00f3n:<\/span><\/p>\n

For the manufacturer and the carriers, all a theft means is another sale. People are going back for a second phone; there is usually an up-sale, because the model that they had is generally no longer available\u2014so people get sucked into new contracts. At least on the surface, [the companies] appear to be very mercenary, very profit-oriented, and not very socially conscious.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From CTIA\u2019s website<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cInsure It. If you are prone to losing things, you may want to consider insuring your device through your wireless provider or a third party entity so that if it is lost or stolen, your replacement device is covered.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n