Samsung's proposal for "kill switch" integration has been rejected by the carriers who fear that the new feature would eat into the profits they make by offering insurance programs toward stolen or lost phones.
Samsung Electronics, the world's largest smartphone making company is offering its consumers a new security feature that would render stolen or lost phones non-functional. The "kill switch" integration into smartphones makes complete sense considering people store private credentials, bank details, pictures, messages, contacts, and more in a phone, which if it falls into wrong hands can do immense damage.
But the proposal is facing major road blocks from leading American wireless carriers including AT&T, Verizon Wireless, United States Cellular Corp, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile, who have rebuffed Samsung's initiative of anti-theft software as a standard feature in its smartphones, District Attorney George Gascon, said on Monday.
"Samsung takes the issue of smartphone theft very seriously, and we are continuing to enhance our solutions," a Samsung spokeswoman told PCMag. "We are working with the leaders of the Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S.) Initiative to incorporate the perspective of law enforcement agencies. We will continue to work with them and our wireless carrier partners towards our common goal of stopping smartphone theft."
The reason for the wireless carriers' unhappiness is because they will lose out on the various insurance programs that offer cover for lost or stolen smartphones. These operators fear that the introduction of "kill switch" may consume a huge part of their profits through these theft insurance programs.
While the "kill switch" has its benefits, it comes with some serious risks, according to CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for wireless providers. This feature makes a device vulnerable if hackers get access, and they can disable the mobile device, or even lock out an individual. Moreover, hackers can also disable the phones used by government organizations such as the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies.
Once the phone is locked out with this feature, there is no option but to buy a new device even if the old one is found. These are the risks one must take in order to take advantage of the benefits.
Let us know if the carriers are right to oppose Samsung's proposal or they are just prioritizing profits over safety.
