Android And Windows Phone To Get A Mobile ‘Kill Switch’

Google and Microsoft have agreed to introduce a ‘kill switch’ in Android and iOS operating systems that would render stolen mobile devices unusable.

Apple and Samsung already offer such functionality on some of their smartphones and tablets.

Almost exactly a year ago, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson wrote to the UK heads of Apple, BlackBerry, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, HTC, Microsoft and Sony demanding they work together to create a system that could deter the would-be thieves.

Killing them softly

As mobile devices become more sophisticated and expensive, they make an increasingly attractive target for criminals. According to a recent US government study, the number of stolen mobile devices in the country doubled between 2012 and 2013, to 3.1 million.

The same study says that one in three Europeans experienced the theft or loss of a mobile device in 2013.

The announcement means that ‘kill switches’ are now offered by three of the world’s most popular mobile operating systems. Proponents of the measure say that a ‘kill switch’ makes a stolen phone as valuable as a paperweight. However, some experts worry that hackers could find a way to hijack the ‘kill’ signal and ruin phones.

“The kill switch implemented by Apple in iOS 7 has already had an impact by reducing iPhone/iPad thefts so it’s not surprising to see Google and Microsoft also moving in this direction,” commented Michael Sutton, VP of security research at Zscaler.

“Kill switches are not a foolproof plan as thieves could still sell stolen devices for parts, but it does reduce the overall value of the device for the criminal.

“Attackers could also leverage kill switch functionality as leverage to demand ransom or activate the kill switch should they gain access to a user’s account, but this is not generally a significant concern given the ease of backing up and recovering phone content from built in cloud based services.”

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