A short time ago, news broke that Samsung and a collection of other tech companies were called upon to implement a kill switch of sorts that would cut down on the amount of device thefts that occur here in the US. Ultimately, the idea is to come up with a system that renders the related device useless in the wrong hands.
Apparently, Samsung agreed to work on the issue after meeting with the New York Attorney General Erich Schneiderman on the matter. As it would turn out, the new security feature may roll out to Samsung device owners as early as next month.
Since Samsung is the top smartphone maker when it comes to sales, it only makes sense that they be the particular company headlining support for such features. Essentially, the kill switch is going to allow device manufacturers and carriers the option to remotely lock, wipe and disable any smartphone so that it is no longer usable. In fact, the government may even be offered access to said functionality, which is incredibly disturbing to say the least.
The feature will “brick” the related device so that it no longer works with any other network in the world, prepaid or postpaid. While it’s a great fallback option for those times when you have your device stolen and you want sensitive material wiped, it could also open some potentially new security vulnerabilities.
Of course, nothing more has been revealed about said feature or how it will work. A lot of what a “kill switch” would entail is left up to speculation at this point.
The news that it might launch within the next few weeks, means we’ll probably know soon enough what Samsung is planning for the functionality. It stands to reason that if they do implement support for such features, they will reveal how the entire process works to consumers and Samsung device owners.
How do you feel about this news, especially if you’re a Samsung device owner? Do you believe that this feature makes you feel safer, or more worried that something might happen? Do you feel that such power over devices will be abused in some way?
Source: MK