Apple adding 'kill switch' to iPhones

[Hum]

It's called "Apple picking," a growing wave of crime in which thieves target mobile devices, particularly iPhones and iPads.

Now the company that gave the crime its name is taking a step to stop it, with a "kill switch"-style update aimed at making the mobile gadgets less valuable to thieves.

Activation Lock will be part of iOS 7, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system expected to roll out in the fall. The feature will require an Apple ID and password before the phone's "Find My iPhone" feature can be turned off or any data can be erased.

At a keynote address opening its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, the company said the same ID and password will be needed to reactivate a device after it's been remotely erased.

"We think this is going to be a really powerful theft deterrent," said Craig Federighi, a senior vice president at Apple.

As mobile devices become more popular, stealing them has become a unique sort of crime that has law enforcement and government officials taking notice.

In New York, a special police unit has been created to deal with stolen mobile devices.

The overall crime rate in the city increased 3% last year -- but "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.

Advocates have been calling for so-called kill switch tools in all mobile devices for some time.

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[techbeck]

May help a little...but thieves will find a way around it via some kind of hack.

Don't see how people get their phones stolen so much tho.

[Xerino]

reset in black recovery mode... phone or pad is useful again... unless they actually remove that feature, there will always be a way around the security..

[NeoTrunks]

reset in black recovery mode... phone or pad is useful again... unless they actually remove that feature, there will always be a way around the security..

I would think that when the phone is restored in that method, you still could not activate it once it's back online. Otherwise, it's a very useless feature that only takes 10 seconds to circumvent.

[Hum]

Fry the CPU -- now that's a kill switch. :shifty:

[Biohead]

reset in black recovery mode... phone or pad is useful again... unless they actually remove that feature, there will always be a way around the security..

It looks like this IS to counteract this. When you do a wipe, you'll also need to reactivate the iphone... then during activation it'll prompt you to insert the iCloud username/password combination which locked the phone. Failure to do so will prevent activation and leaving you with a paperweight.

[n_K]

reset in black recovery mode... phone or pad is useful again... unless they actually remove that feature, there will always be a way around the security..

Yeah I was thinking that, but apple has it covered. Serial number. When you connect to itunes, it sends the serial number, so actually it will block it pretty well.

[Xerino]

Yeah I was thinking that, but apple has it covered. Serial number. When you connect to itunes, it sends the serial number, so actually it will block it pretty well.

unless its jailbroken...

[Brian M. Veteran]

unless its jailbroken...

As far as I know, a jailbreak which is able to activate a phone hasn't been available since the iPhone 4?

[StandingInAlley]

Can anyone tell me how someone can sell an old iPhone to another individual with this new activation lock feature?

(Associate new iCloud account to an old phone?)

Earlier :

Wipe the phone and sell it.

Now?

Wipe - Activate - Sell?

[Tigurinn]

...I was so hoping for a fingerprint sensor in the home button. *sigh* Doesn't seem like that's going to happen for a while

[Atomic Wanderer Chicken]

Maybe this will put an end to the rampant (stolen) iphones that are on craigslist.

[Hurmoth]

...I was so hoping for a fingerprint sensor in the home button. *sigh* Doesn't seem like that's going to happen for a while

That would only happen with new hardware, so it could still come with the iPhone 5S. And while that is still an unlikely addition this time (maybe next year); even if it does come this year, Apple still needed to have something for previous generation phones.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

It's called "Apple picking," a growing wave of crime in which thieves target mobile devices, particularly iPhones and iPads.

No, it's called theft. Sorry, I just hate media-invented names for things.

[neufuse Veteran]

the only way to put a true kill switch in is to have an electronic fuse on the CPU which can be blown by a direct connection to the cellular radio on a path that can not be disabled by software... so when the phone's id is flagged as stolen the CPU blows a kill fuse which makes it impossible to even turn the device on again because it blew a fuse at the chip silicon level...

[threetonesun]

Can anyone tell me how someone can sell an old iPhone to another individual with this new activation lock feature?

(Associate new iCloud account to an old phone?)

Earlier :

Wipe the phone and sell it.

Now?

Wipe - Activate - Sell?

You could always restore to factory default, which in this case would set it back to an unactivated state. The kill switch would deactivate it plus require the same user to activate it.

the only way to put a true kill switch in is to have an electronic fuse on the CPU which can be blown by a direct connection to the cellular radio on a path that can not be disabled by software... so when the phone's id is flagged as stolen the CPU blows a kill fuse which makes it impossible to even turn the device on again because it blew a fuse at the chip silicon level...

It's a bit overkill if you just want to remotely shut it down if the phone has been temporarily misplaced though.

[Atomic Wanderer Chicken]

I dont get why iphones are so valuable and special. They are made in china like everything else, but are priced twice the amount of money as all of the other phones. Windows phones and android phones give you so much more for the money also. I never understood the rationale for Apple's pricing. If they lowed the price of the iphonex and ipads, there may be a reduction in theft.

[Rippleman]

I dont get why iphones are so valuable and special. They are made in china like everything else, but are priced twice the amount of money as all of the other phones. Windows phones and android phones give you so much more for the money also. I never understood the rationale for Apple's pricing. If they lowed the price of the iphonex and ipads, there may be a reduction in theft.

easy to use, logical fail safe devices, and they are the same price as competing phones...

[StephenBratz]

So in other words, they are adding a feature that will call home every X hours (let's use 24 hours as an example), verify with a server that you are not doing something that is against Apple's rules, and if so then you are deactivated?

[threetonesun]

I dont get why iphones are so valuable and special. They are made in china like everything else, but are priced twice the amount of money as all of the other phones. Windows phones and android phones give you so much more for the money also. I never understood the rationale for Apple's pricing. If they lowed the price of the iphonex and ipads, there may be a reduction in theft.

Resale value is much, much higher than competing phones. Also popularity, and the fact that there's just one model (iPhone) makes it easy to move after you've stolen it.

So in other words, they are adding a feature that will call home every X hours (let's use 24 hours as an example), verify with a server that you are not doing something that is against Apple's rules, and if so then you are deactivated?

Yes, those are other words. No, they do not accurately describe this feature. :laugh:

[neufuse Veteran]

It's a bit overkill if you just want to remotely shut it down if the phone has been temporarily misplaced though.

but in the case of thefts, you don't want them reselling it or using it, so blow the CPU fuses up and disable the thing... then no reflashing it and selling it again

[n_K]

So in other words, they are adding a feature that will call home every X hours (let's use 24 hours as an example), verify with a server that you are not doing something that is against Apple's rules, and if so then you are deactivated?

No, that's existed for a long time and is how rogue apps are deleted, apple marks them as bad and if detected on phones they get removed.

This is only for when the phone is unlocked from marked as locked and when it's updated/reflashed.

[sunsetsnow]

fuses

lol

[Original Poster]

....yea just download and reinstal ... its just like jail breaking but using original software ?

[StephenBratz]

No, that's existed for a long time and is how rogue apps are deleted, apple marks them as bad and if detected on phones they get removed.

This is only for when the phone is unlocked from marked as locked and when it's updated/reflashed.

I know there was that feature for apps, but what needs to happen in this case is that either data is pushed or pulled that indicates if the phone needs to be deactivated. If Apple determines that your device is no longer valid, then they can either set data on their server or push data to your phone to make it no longer work.