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Apple and Samsung have taken some steps in the right direction when it comes to curbing smartphone theft, but they — and the industry — can do much more.
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That’s according to San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who issued a statement after Thursday’s smartphone summit.
The law enforcement officials earlier kicked off the day with a press conference, when they announced their intent to push the handset industry to install a “kill switch” in their products that would render the device useless if stolen. Executives from Apple, Samsung, Google/Motorola, and Microsoft participated in the summit.
“Apple and Samsung have taken steps in the right direction, but it is clear to us that the industry as a whole has more work
to do to protect consumers from violent street crimes,” according to an e-mailed statement.
The Secure Our Smartphone or SOS coalition has provided a series of parameters for what it wants the companies to do. The group wants to the companies to have some sort of kill switch in new products within a year.
Apple on Monday showed off the “activation lock” feature in iOS 7 that would prevent the reactivation of a stolen phone, while Samsung has beefed up its enterprise and security features with its SAFE and Knox initiatives.
Samsung declined to comment. CNET contacted Apple for comment, and we’ll update the story when the company responds.
