“Kill Switch” confirmed for Samsung and LG devices

“Kill Switch” confirmed for Samsung and LG devices

It looks like Android Device Manager won’t be the only security measure implemented for tablets and smartphones this year. All Korean Smartphones should now come with “Kill Switch”. But what is this?

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Kill Switch in Korea is law. / © The Korea Times

In a survey carried out by the security company F-Secure and published on the website Projeto Web Segura, Brazil was only surpassed by India in smartphone loss and theft: 25% of Brazilian respondents lost or had their cell phones stolen. The global average was 11%. The black appliance market in Brazil is growing at an alarming rate. In prisons, stolen cell phones are used to coordinate criminal actions and escape attempts.

All of this could be avoided with a very simple measure, which has just become law in South Korea: from now on, all Korean cell phones must come with “Kill Switch”, Name in English given to the function, remotely triggered, which makes the device useless after being stolen, in addition to erasing all user data. Samsung and LG have already started to manufacture devices with the “button that kills”, and I think that this measure in Brazil would reduce the number of new cell phone thefts, reducing the black market for the devices.

It is not a great consolation, but at least it is good to know that the criminal who stole your cell phone will never be able to use it, right?

What do you think of Kill Switch?