The Anti-Theft "Kill Switch" to become a standard by 2015

[Ink]

New standard for Anti-Theft "Kill Switch" by July 2015 backed by Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft.

The "kill switch," a system for remotely disabling smartphones and wiping their data, will become standard in 2015, according to a pledge backed by most of the mobile world's major players.
Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft, along with the five biggest cellular carriers in the United States, are among those that have signed on to a voluntary program announced Tuesday by the industry's largest trade group.​

(Source)


CTIA and Participating Wireless Companies Announce the “Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment”

Each device manufacturer and operating system signatory of Part I of this “Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment” agrees that new models of smartphones first manufactured after July 2015 for retail sale in the United States will offer, at no cost to consumers, a baseline anti-theft tool that is preloaded or downloadable on wireless smartphones that provides the connected capability to:

1. Remote wipe the authorized user’s data (i.e., erase personal info that is added after purchase such as contacts, photos, emails, etc.) that is on the smartphone in the event it is lost or stolen.
2. Render the smartphone inoperable to an unauthorized user (e.g., locking the smartphone so it cannot be used without a password or PIN), except in accordance with FCC rules for 911 emergency communications, and if available, emergency numbers programmed by the authorized user (e.g., “phone home”).
3. Prevent reactivation without authorized user’s permission (including unauthorized factory reset attempts) to the extent technologically feasible (e.g., locking the smartphone as in 2 above).
4. Reverse the inoperability if the smartphone is recovered by the authorized user and restore user data on the smartphone to the extent feasible (e.g., restored from the cloud).

In addition to this baseline anti-theft tool, consumers may use other technological solutions, if available for their smartphones.

Read more - http://www.ctia.org/resource-librar...ce-smartphone-anti-theft-voluntary-commitment

 

[Prorootect]

Mobile kingpins embark in fight against smartphone theft : on betanews.com : http://betanews.com/2014/04/16/mobile-kingpins-embark-in-fight-against-smartphone-theft/#comments

Even though technology has advanced tremendously in recent times, smartphone theft or loss continues to be an area which has received little attention from the big players in the industry. And, it is not difficult to see why, as they stand to profit from people's misfortune or mistakes.
While we can track smartphones and delete any personal data remotely, most handsets do not have a kill switch, which means the people who stole or found a handset may be able to use it freely. However, that is set to change, as CTIA has revealed top players in the mobile industry have, finally, decided to fight on behalf of consumers, by employing countermeasures.
The companies that have signed this agreement are Apple, Asurion, AT&T, Google, HTC, Huawei, Motorola, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon. They have vowed to include "a baseline anti-theft tool", for free, in smartphones that will be offered for sale, at retail, starting July 2015.
The tool can be either pre-installed or readily available to download. And the four largest mobile operators in US will not stand in the way. This is good news, as the agreement covers Android, iOS and Windows Phone smartphones, which make up more than 90 percent of the US market.
The anti-theft tool gives users the ability to erase personal data remotely, will limit functionality solely to emergency calls (and, if the user chooses, specific numbers), prevent the smartphone from being reactivated without the user's consent (which probably kicks in after the data is erased, like Apple does with the iPhone 5s), and, finally, allow users who have initiated the process, to regain control after recovering their smartphones.
Some of these features resemble what Apple is doing with the iPhone 5s. There is no word yet on whether this tool will be available outside of US, come launch time. But, there is no reason, at least in the case of mobile operator-unlocked smartphones, why it should not be offered.
Photo Credit: Les Scholz/Shutterstock

 

[Ink]

Currently, the tally is 26 "yes" votes to 8 "no" votes -- with 21 votes needed to pass the 40 member Senate. When the bill was brought up for a vote in late April, it fell short two votes of the minimum. The bill applies only to smartphones, and not other mobile devices such as tablets, manufactured after July 1, 2015.

http://www.cnet.com/news/california-senate-approves-smartphone-kill-switch-bill/