After Introducing Kill Switches, iPhone Theft Down 19% in NYC
After Introducing Kill Switches, iPhone Theft Down 19% in NYC
A year after New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman launched his Secure Our Smartphones Initiative, he says it's working.
iPhone thefts in New York City are down 19% this year.
New York State Attorney General Schneiderman credits that to a program he introduced last year calling for smartphone manufactures to include a kill switch in their devices. Apple added a kill switch feature in September.
"Perpetrators have been acknowledging the fact that iPhones were less attractive devices to sell," said Schneiderman, "because when you have a kill-switch, they're stealing something that they know is going to soon become a paperweight and have no resale value."
But the Attorney General said there's more to be done.
"None of the security systems available now engage by default. In other words, they require users to opt in."
Microsoft and Google smartphones will include kill switches in their next software update.
