As the rate of stolen mobile devices soars, becoming so drastic as to require special units just to deal with the cases, Apple is taking steps to make its devices less savory to would-be thieves. The company plans to introduce a "kill-switch" as part of iOS 7 that prevents the "Find My iPhone" app from being turned off, CNN reported. It would also allow users to block all usage of the device once it is stolen.
The mobile devices' new operation system, which will make its debut in fall, will be equipped with "Activation Lock," which would require an Apple ID and password for the iPhone-finding app to be shut off. It would also prevent data from being wiped, a common act among thieves as a way to resell stolen devices. The same ID and password would be required for reactivation of the phone.
"We think this is going to be a really powerful theft deterrent," said Craig Federighi, a senior vice president at Apple.
The move comes after Apple has been repeatedly pushed by consumers and police to install such a feature to make stopping thieves easier. Officers sometimes keep iPads in police vehicles in order to assist the tracking of phones. Thieves, however, routinely shut off the "Find My iPhone" app, making their whereabouts impossible to track, creating bustling markets of stolen iPhones in places as far as Africa, the Daily Mail reported. In New York City, a special unit has been delineated for the purposes of tracking stolen mobile devices.
In fact, crime in New York has increased 3 percent this year. If stolen mobile devices were removed from the equation, however, the statistics would paint a different picture. The announcement from the Cupertino company comes shortly after San Francisco district attorney George Gascon announced plans to meet with the New York state attorney general to discuss ways to curb the rates of cell phone theft.
"If you subtracted just the increase in Apple product thefts, we would have had an overall decrease in crime in New York," Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said.
Though the feature is sure to get praise from users, Marc Rogers, an expert at mobile security firm Lookout, warns of the potential problems the feature can pose.
"A kill switch is an interesting concept but it has far-reaching ramifications," he said. "Any kind of solution like this must be implemented with extreme caution to ensure it cannot be activated by malicious hackers or cyber-criminals who decide that they want to 'kill' all the phones in London, for example."
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