Top US carriers kill Samsung’s “kill switch” security

The world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, Samsung Electronics, has proposed installing a built-in anti-theft measure known as a "kill switch" that would render stolen or lost phones inoperable.

However, San Francisco's top prosecutor says the nation's biggest carriers had rejected the idea.

According to district attorney George Gascon, AT&T Inc, Verizon Wireless, United States Cellular Corp, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc rejected Samsung's proposal to preload its phones with Absolute LoJack anti-theft software as a standard feature.

New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman and other law enforcement officials had been demanding that manufacturers create kill switches to combat rising smartphone theft across the country.

However, the wireless industry says a kill switch was not the answer, as it could allow a hacker to disable someone's phone.

The Federal Communications Commission said almost 1 in 3 US robberies involved phone theft.

Lost and stolen mobile devices, mostly smartphones cost consumers over $30 billion last year, according to a study cited by Schneiderman in June.

Gascon claims to have seen an email exchanged between a senior Samsung official and a software developer that said Samsung had pre-installed kill switch software in some smartphones ready for shipment.

However, these were ordered to be removed as a standard feature by carriers, the mail said.

Gascon said the emails suggested that carriers were rejecting a technological solution so they could carry on shaking down their customers for billions of dollars in (theft) insurance premiums.

He added, he was incensed as it was a solution that had the potential to end the victimisation of their customers.

According to The Wireless Association, a trade group for wireless providers, it had been working with the FCC, law enforcement agencies and elected officials on a national stolen phone database scheduled for 30 November launch.

It added, a permanent kill switch came with serious risks, which included potential vulnerability to hackers who could disable mobile devices and lock out not only the phones of individuals, but also phones of such entities as the Department of Defence, Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies.

According to James Moran, a security adviser for a UK-based trade group, the problem was how one could trigger a kill switch in a secure manner and not be compromised by a third party and be subjected to hacking.