Microsoft is adding a kill switch to Windows Phone

[vetran]

It's written in a C-based language (with the concomitant buffer overflow vulnerabilities). That means there will be an exploit that bypasses such checks.

if the phone is programmed with an individual private key only the factory & network know and the routine that does it isn't exposed uses this hard coded key then the risks are less.

[scooterscot]

They've had that for years. Press this:



And in a few minutes this:

[wonderboy]

indeed it does, however the sensible thing to do is to make the networks support it with commands normal people can't use. I expect Microsoft will think of such things, they hire some bright kids.

I'm assuming it would be linked to IMEI, subscriber and serial / phone number so any hacker would need all for each phone.

It's written in a C-based language (with the concomitant buffer overflow vulnerabilities). That means there will be an exploit that bypasses such checks.

[Sysman]

So Cryptolocker will shortly be arriving on smartphones

Android is already "The Windows of the mobile world" in terms of being targeted by malware. One nasty trick out there is knobbliing installers for reputable apps to include nasties.

The antivirus offerings for it are pretty weak too.

[vetran]

Actually the failure-mode I was thinking of was simply someone hacking the system and issuing an ecosystem-wide kill command. At that point, the fact you can return your phone to a dealer becomes moot.

indeed it does, however the sensible thing to do is to make the networks support it with commands normal people can't use. I expect Microsoft will think of such things, they hire some bright kids.

I'm assuming it would be linked to IMEI, subscriber and serial / phone number so any hacker would need all for each phone.

[xoggoth]

You can easily stop crypto locker or other malware affecting your phone by keeping it wrapped in tinfoil.

[wonderboy]

If its an immobiliser that can be reset by returning to a dealer it will work like car keys (until someone builds a tool to reset but hopefully that will be after the phone's value has fallen).

A new theory of crime: Driven down | The Economist

Actually the failure-mode I was thinking of was simply someone hacking the system and issuing an ecosystem-wide kill command. At that point, the fact you can return your phone to a dealer becomes moot.

[vetran]

If its an immobiliser that can be reset by returning to a dealer it will work like car keys (until someone builds a tool to reset but hopefully that will be after the phone's value has fallen).

A new theory of crime: Driven down | The Economist

[wonderboy]

So Cryptolocker will shortly be arriving on smartphones

Reading the Wikipedia article on this trojan. I love the fact that a newer variant was released by the creator with the ransom adjusted down "to reflect the fluctuating value of Bitcoin".

CryptoLocker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[CloudWalker]

oh dear, this will be exploited at the first chance....
"pay me $10000 BTC or I'll wipe all your phones"

[amcdonald]

So Cryptolocker will shortly be arriving on smartphones

[wonderboy]

You mean the thing iPhone already has, which hasn't led to massive problems?

Two things:

1. This is will be based on Microsoft technology and not NeXT.
2. The Apple kill switch can be bypassed by a factory reset (and so it is essentially useless).

[d000hg]

You mean the thing iPhone already has, which hasn't led to massive problems?

[wonderboy]

Potentially to "render a stolen device permanently unusable... ...to give stolen devices the value of a paperweight"

...what could possibly go wrong?

BBC News - Android and Windows to get 'kill switch'