The increasing theft of smartphones and their rampant sale on the black market has alarmed security agencies worldwide. Last year, more than 70,000 people were victims of mobile theft in London alone. To combat this major threat, two of the UK’s largest telecom companies, Virgin Media O2 and VodafoneThree, have taken a revolutionary step.
These companies have rolled out ‘Kill Switch’ technology to instantly render smartphones stolen from their retail stores useless. This technology will completely thwart the plans of vicious gangs attacking shops.
Kill Switch is an advanced security technology that renders a stolen smartphone completely inoperable, meaning unusable. According to a report in The Financial Times, this move came after major handset manufacturers like Apple and Samsung resisted pressure to create a universal anti-theft lock. Following the tech giants’ refusal, telecom operators decided to deploy this tracking technology themselves to deter thieves. Its primary objective is to completely destroy the black market for stolen devices.
The technology’s mechanism is extremely strict and fully automated. It’s worth noting that this “kill switch” only applies to new smartphones that haven’t yet been sold to customers from retail stores. The technology is activated as soon as a criminal or gang steals a phone from a store and turns it on. The phone is immediately flagged and logged in a dedicated database owned by the device manufacturer. Once identified in the database, a remote command is sent to the phone, instantly turning it into a junkyard.
There’s no need for ordinary consumers to worry about this new technology, as its rules are very clear. Telecom operators cannot disable any phone that has been legally purchased. Once a customer pays for a phone, the network provider no longer owns the device. Therefore, this kill switch is solely intended to protect in-store stock. Prior to the UK, mobile network operators in the Netherlands had also taken similar steps to protect their stock.
Police forces and several industry groups have long urged tech manufacturers to include built-in kill switches to reduce the resale value of stolen electronics. Last year, Mobile UK, an organization representing the country’s network providers, wrote to the Home Secretary, demanding government intervention in this matter. He also mentioned that Apple already uses a similar kill-switch system for devices stolen from its exclusive Apple Stores, so why isn’t it being implemented for everyone else.