Apple develops kill switch against jailbreaking iPhones

Earlier this month, it was announced that the US Library of Congress determined jailbreaking an iPhone (unlocking it in order to run non-Apple approved code) was a fair use activity and therefore legal. Of course, Apple was not happy with the decision; and now they are doing something about it.

Almost every mobile OS includes the ability to remotely remove apps from the smartphones on which they are installed; however if patented, Apple’s ‘kill switch’ will take that ability a step further by allowing Apple to lock down iPhones through crippling or completely shutting them down when unauthorised use is determined. Although the ‘Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device’ appears primarily a security option focussed on theft and hacking, the terminology used in the document specifically states ‘jailbreaking’ and ‘unlocking’ are indicators of unauthorised use.

Then there is this: Apple’s ability to spy on users through remote control of the iPhone’s cameras. To quote the patent, Apple will be able to protect users from unauthorised use is by “surreptitiously activating the iPhone camera, geotagging the image and uploading it to the server and transmitting sensitive data to the server and then wiping it from the device.” Which leads to the question: Do iPhone users really want Apple in control of their cameras?

Apple is well-known for its obsessive focus on keeping everything about its products proprietary; however, with this one cannot help but wonder if they’ve gone a step too far – even for the most devout of Apple fans.