Apple proposes iPhone that calls security agency when stolen

Posted:
in iPhone edited February 2014
In the latest installment of Apple's iPhone security-related patent filings, the Cupertino-based company describes the implementation of loss prevention software that would notify a security agency in the event the handset is lost or stolen, which could in turn lead to a police officer being dispatched to the current location of the device based on GPS coordinates.



More specifically, the 12-page filing notes that an electronic device can be configured to enter a prevention mode in response to detecting a force that exceeds a predetermined threshold, thereby providing security.



Upon entering a prevention mode, Apple says the device may transmit a security transmission, in the form of a telephone call or an e-mail. This security transmission, when received by a security entity, could lead to the security entity dispatching an officer to the device's location, or to the security entity placing a telephone call to the device's owner, thereby providing additional security.



"To provide greater security, an electronic device in a security mode can be configured to enter a 'lock-down' mode when the device is exposed to vibration or acceleration above a predetermined lock-down threshold, thereby preventing unauthorized use of the device," the company adds. "The vibration/acceleration lock-down threshold for a lock-down mode may be set to be the same as a security threshold for sending a security transmission or may be set to a different level of vibration/acceleration."



Users would be able to set preferences that determine various states or circumstances in which an iPhone would switch into its security mode, such as when the device has been idle, without user input and/or certain vibration/acceleration events, for a predetermined period of time.







The filing is credited to Apple engineer Michael Lee. It follows on the heels of a similar patent, which described stealth biometric security measures that could help identify authorized users with fingerprints or even facial recognition.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    matt_smatt_s Posts: 300member
    [QUOTE=AppleInsider;1397259.... the Cupertino-based company describes the implementation of loss prevention software that would notify a security agency in the event the handset is lost or stolen, which could in turn lead to a police officer being dispatched to the current location of the device based on GPS coordinates.[/QUOTE]



    Oh man, just what the cops need. Budgets are down, forces are being scaled back. Pensions trimmed, salaries cut. Homes are being broken into, stores ransacked, carjackings, drugs being sold to kids, people raped and murdered, and now, the police have to respond to somebody's cell phone being misplaced or snarfed? Give me a break.



    Just make it so if it's stolen, we can send it a coded message and the thing will lock up entirely, frozen shut, making it totally worthless and a giant waste of time to steal someone's iPhone.



    But keep the cops out of it.
  • Reply 2 of 45
    Why not just get AT&T to offer insurance for the device?
  • Reply 3 of 45
    bdkennedy1bdkennedy1 Posts: 1,459member
    So basically, the police have nothing to do with this story since the phone would call a security agent instead.



    Great writing.
  • Reply 4 of 45
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ZIGraphics View Post


    Why not just get AT&T to offer insurance for the device?



    Do other cell phone carriers offer theft insurance?
  • Reply 5 of 45
    Some idiot loses his phone... Its the idiots fault.



    The person finding it gets to keep it. Finders Keeper.



    If this policy applies to Apple, it should apply to all.



    Could you imagine all the problems and headaches something this stupid could do?



    I have yet to lose anything.
  • Reply 6 of 45
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    I think I'll take theft-detection based on passcode, NOT movement, thank you



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by matt_s View Post


    Oh man, just what the cops need. Budgets are down, forces are being scaled back. Pensions trimmed, salaries cut. Homes are being broken into, stores ransacked, carjackings, drugs being sold to kids, people raped and murdered, and now, the police have to respond to somebody's cell phone being misplaced or snarfed? Give me a break.



    Just make it so if it's stolen, we can send it a coded message and the thing will lock up entirely, frozen shut, making it totally worthless and a giant waste of time to steal someone's iPhone.



    But keep the cops out of it.



    Actually, this system doesn't call the cops. It contacts the user or the user's security service. THEN, the cops can be contacted by humans if they see fit. Which humans can already do anyway. (If you think small theft should go unreported, then that's a problem you'll have to address in other ways: removing this feature won't stop people from calling the police over stolen phones.)



    This doesn't make it any easier to call the cops to report a theft. It just gives more information (the GPS coordinates) to make the call USEFUL. That sounds useful to me. The police can still ignore the crime if they wish, but at least they have some valuable information. Lots of stolen phones showing up at one address? Might be worth looking into. Just one? Maybe ignore it and just track the crime stats for future decision making. Either way, including the coordinates in the call you were already going to make to police isn't really harmful.



    Also, insurance and device lock aren't a cure-all: they don't help you recover the data you had on the phone since the last backup.
  • Reply 7 of 45
    dogcowdogcow Posts: 713member
    Send the info to the user, not the cops...



    Cops don't care if the user left it somewhere by accident or if it was taken from a backpack in a high school for instance. They might care more if your apartment or car was broken into. If there is evidence that you are a victim in a string of crimes by the criminal it's more likely the police will care about that iPhone info since it's more likely the whoever took it is a "professional" theif and not just some kid who took some other kid's phone. They could use the location info to find the criminals who more than likely have committed many more crimes than just iPhone theft.



    So send the info to the user, let them go to the police with the circumstances of the theft and let them determine if it's worth their time to pursue.
  • Reply 8 of 45
    bigmc6000bigmc6000 Posts: 767member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by matt_s View Post


    Oh man, just what the cops need. Budgets are down, forces are being scaled back. Pensions trimmed, salaries cut. Homes are being broken into, stores ransacked, carjackings, drugs being sold to kids, people raped and murdered, and now, the police have to respond to somebody's cell phone being misplaced or snarfed? Give me a break.



    Just make it so if it's stolen, we can send it a coded message and the thing will lock up entirely, frozen shut, making it totally worthless and a giant waste of time to steal someone's iPhone.



    But keep the cops out of it.



    Until the cops stop sitting on the side of the road pulling people over for going w/ the flow of traffic and when they stop installing red-light cameras (that are proven to cause MORE wrecks) I won't think the cops have enough to do. Which is sad because there are so many injustices going around and all the departments care about is ways to extract more money from people and less about preventing murders, rapes, etc...



    Just make a way to make the phone worthless that's all I want - if I lose it then it's my own fault and I'm out the $400-$500 bucks it'll cost me to replace said iPhone (which is part that really sucks because you sure as heck aren't going to get the $200-$300 deal you would at the end of the contract).
  • Reply 9 of 45
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    Do other cell phone carriers offer theft insurance?



    Yes--and so does AT&T on other phones. (It's an extra you must pay for, of course.)



    Then again, your homeowner's or renter's insurance probably already covers your personal property when outside the home--from theft or even breakage. I know mine does. (But unless you "upgrade" your policy there may be a limit on how much electronics coverage you have. Worth looking into. My old policy required me to pay a small amount extra or it didn't cover the full value of all my computers and electronics--and they didn't tell me that limit or offer the options, I just found it in the fine print. My new policy had no such limitations luckily.)
  • Reply 10 of 45
    one of Apple's stupid ideas...
  • Reply 11 of 45
    rot'napplerot'napple Posts: 1,839member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bdkennedy1 View Post


    So basically, the police have nothing to do with this story since the phone would call a security agent instead.



    Great writing.



    What do you expect in a "PC" world? And I'm not talking about John Hodgman.



    We no longer have a "War on Terror" but an "Overseas Contingency Operation".



    We no longer have "terrorist acts" but "Man Caused Destruction", (a little sexist if you ask me).



    Anyway, I can see where AI gets off writing 'security agent', it comes from the change we can believe in!
  • Reply 12 of 45
    I think this could be quite useful if it was a very subtle feature. All you need it to do is disable itself from use completely when in this mode and perhaps push it's location to a service periodically.



    This is where the carriers should come in. If a device goes into stolen mode, it should send this to your carrier to be recorded next to your account, and perhaps supply the location as well. The only way you can get this unlocked is to re-enable through the carrier.



    I would not mind ringing O2 if there was a possibility I could get my phone back!



    I also hate the through of someone else using my property, if they had stolen something that turns out to be useless for them, that would make me feel better at least.
  • Reply 13 of 45
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bdkennedy1 View Post


    So basically, the police have nothing to do with this story since the phone would call a security agent instead.



    Great writing.



    No. You're being an ass. It clearly states that a message would be sent to a security agency, which would then have an officer dispatched to the location. The same way home security would work.



    Thanks,



    K
  • Reply 14 of 45
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post


    What do you expect in a "PC" world? And I'm not talking about John Hodgman.



    We no longer have a "War on Terror" but an "Overseas Contingency Operation".



    We no longer have "terrorist acts" but "Man Caused Destruction", (a little sexist if you ask me).



    Anyway, I can see where AI gets off writing 'security agent', it comes from the change we can believe in!



    You didn't read the article The security agent is a separate service--who THEN can call police.



    It's NOT the same as police, and the article headline is indeed wrong. But that's the only writing problem--not the article: it's not AI who chose the term "security," they're just reporting on the concept.



    (And the concept of euphemisms was not invented recently--see also: the Bush administration on torture )
  • Reply 15 of 45
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post


    You didn't read the article The security agent is a separate service--who THEN can call police.



    It's NOT the same as police, and the article headline is indeed wrong. But that's the only writing problem--not the article: it's not AI who chose the term "security," they're just reporting on the concept.



    (And the concept of euphemisms was not invented recently--see also: the Bush administration on torture )



    Bleh, I think you're all taking the original title way to literally. It's not feasible for the phone to actually call the cops directly when it thinks its stolen, but the end result for an iPhone that was indeed stolen would be the same if this patent became a reality. I changed the title to be more explicit. Sorry for the confusion.



    K
  • Reply 16 of 45
    eaieai Posts: 417member
    Combined with a passcode this could work... I think it's be a fine balance between setting it off by accident and having it not work at all..
  • Reply 17 of 45
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post


    What do you expect in a "PC" world? And I'm not talking about John Hodgman.



    We no longer have a "War on Terror" but an "Overseas Contingency Operation".



    We no longer have "terrorist acts" but "Man Caused Destruction", (a little sexist if you ask me).



    Anyway, I can see where AI gets off writing 'security agent', it comes from the change we can believe in!



    You forgot to add the Kathleen Sibelius to your signature as yet another one who failed to pay taxes- somehow forgot to pay $7,000- that a 17inch MacBook Pro and 24" iMac, a Cinema display and an iPhone!
  • Reply 18 of 45
    Um...since when does a large vibration mean my phone has been lost or stolen?
  • Reply 19 of 45
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    does anyone else think that "detecting a force that exceeds a predetermined threshold" does not necessarily equate to phone theft? I would assume most phone thefts happen in situations where the owner misplaced his phone or left it unattended in a public place.
  • Reply 20 of 45
    fraklincfraklinc Posts: 244member
    There's a 80% chance that if someone stills your iPhone he won't know how to shut it off, so the first few minutes you notice it's missing are critical. I seen a few people pocket iPhones that got caught, one time at NYC subway an at a house party, lol.
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