Mandatory phone kill switches will hasten the advent of the Surveillance of Everything. Consider these 11 technologies that include strings attached.

Federal and state lawmakers have proposed to make it mandatory for phone makers to incorporate a kill switch in mobile communications devices a good way to be disabled remotely within the event of loss or theft.

Without a doubt, cellular phone theft is a major problem: Between 30% and 40% of robberies in major cities involve a mobile device, in keeping with the FCC. But mandating built-in anti-theft technology, instead of allowing individuals to make their very own security choices, raises the danger of misuse and extends the scope of surveillance.

Of course, the net already is a surveillance system: Just about all online activity can also be (and is) tracked. But aside from bulk and targeted data collected by intelligence agencies, individuals generally have an out. Internet users can erase and block cookies, use ad blocking and script blocking technology, prevent the transmission of specified local data, or even use encryption technology, given enough technical savvy. But as everyday objects become integrated with our networks, opting out is probably going to become increasingly difficult.

Mandatory phone kill switches will hasten the appearance of the Surveillance of Everything, an unavoidable consequence of the so-called Internet of factors. Using technology to increase the reach of property rights make as much sense for other objects because it does for phones. But in so doing, individual property rights mingle with social mores and government prerogatives. Nothing is actually yours on someone else’s network.

[Think your encrypted network is private? Read NSA Surveillance Can Penetrate VPNs.]

Consider a contemporary Google patent application, “System and Method for Controlling Mobile Device Operation,” which describes research to aid in “correcting occasional human error,” reminiscent of when phones haven’t been silenced in a film theater.

The thing about kill switches is that they are a manifestation of digital rights management. Within the hands of people, perhaps they seem to be a good idea. But they will not remain inside the hands of people. They are going to be utilized by companies, organizations, and governments, too. Or even when people believe they’ve got control in their kill switches, authorities and hackers should be would becould very well be expected to prove otherwise.

Beyond cell phones themselves, listed here are some of the technologies that may include strings attached. Trust us. It’s to your own good.

1. Phone networks
In the summer of 2011, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) shut down cellular service because protesters had said they planned to exploit their cellphones to coordinate protest activities and BART officials determined this presented a threat to public safety. In order that they blocked the phones of everyone within the affected BART area. The Electronic Frontier Foundation objected, noting that repressive regimes behave a similar way. Communication seems to be a privilege in place of a right.

2. The Internet
There’s a DIY personal Internet kill switch but there’s also a secret US government version. Last November, Usa District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the dept of Homeland Security’s insistence that it was exempt from disclosing information about Standard Operating Procedure 303, a protocol for deactivating communications networks. In January, DHS appealed the ruling. It wants the Internet’s kill switch to stay a secret.

3. Cars
Cars have become increasingly automated. Google and other companies are developing cars that drive themselves. Expect these cars to record everything, as an issue of diagnostics, liability, and safety. What’s more, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is pushing for the implementation of auto-to-vehicle communication technology, so cars can pass data to one another about their position and speed, to prevent collisions. These network-aware cars do get stolen now and again, so why not include a remote shutdown capability? Auto dealers already use a system called On Time to disable cars when the client has missed too many payments. And European police officers are pushing for a car kill switch to avoid dangerous high-speed chases. Movie scriptwriters will need to start specializing in foot pursuits any further.

4. Video
The video industry has an affinity for kill-switch technology: region-coded DVDs, geo-restrictions on Internet content, and downloadable rentals that expire after a number of days all help keep viewers from acting contrary to their wishes. YouTube has its Content ID system to police unauthorized usage of music and video. Apple has a patent, akin to the Google patent mentioned above, for disabling cellular phone video and audio, in case authorities require blackout conditions.

5. Computers
Kill switches for code exist already. Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft have the capacity to disable apps. Computer tracking software resembling Undercover lets users covertly locate computers and transmit pictures. Intel, until recently, offered an anti-theft service. Computers often do not want a selected kill switch because there are such a large amount of how to compromise them, disable them, or shut them down from afar. Nevertheless, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded IBM a freelance to develop self-destructing computer chips.

6. Bicycles
Remote kill switches for motorcycles had been around for years. Bicycles, being manually powered, can’t really be shut down. But they are often tracked, using several existing bike tracking systems, similar to those employed by BikeSpike, BitLock, SOBI, and ViaCycle.

7. Everyday stuff
A 2010 academic paper describes AutoWitness, “a system to discourage, detect, and track personal property theft, improve historically dismal stolen property recovery rates.” GPS tracking of items is commonplace. And what might be made non-functional, through a kill switch, would be. Imagine a chair with DRM. It’d be greater than an art project someday.

8. Pharmaceuticals
Scientists are engaged on vaccines for addictive drugs, like cocaine and heroin. A drug called iomazenil is presently in clinical trials to look if it may be used to dam or limit the impact of alcohol intoxication. This technology falls somewhere between kill switch and buzzkill.

9. Guns
TriggerSmart, an organization based in Limerick, Ireland, has created an RFID-based gun-locking mechanism. The kid-safety applications are obvious, but as noted within the Economist last year, governments around the globe are considering kill switches on rocket-propelled grenade launchers, landmines, and other military weaponry, to forestall the arms from getting used by enemies. Chances are high some high-tech military systems have already got backdoors and kill switches in place, just in case. Gun enthusiasts, unsurprisingly, have a tendency to be below inquisitive about such technology, noting that in the future, a sensible gun will do something dumb and fail to fireplace when needed.

10. Planes
Considering the style commercial airliners were became guided missiles through the 9/11 terrorist attack, it is not surprising that the Pentagon has expressed interest in a kill switch for airplanes. In reality, planes are already so automated that it is a wonder airlines have yet phasing pilots out altogether. In 2011, James Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Air carriers, said that pilotless airlines are inevitable. At the least no pilots will die when authorities somewhere choose to detonate a malfunctioning commercial airliner instead of let it slam right into a city.

11. Seeds
Monsanto has developed, but has pledged to not deploy, a “terminator” gene that makes plants produce sterile seeds, so customers ought to purchase new fertile seed for subsequent plantings. The company’s recent legal victory against a farmer who used Monsanto patented soybeans without permission, however, might mean the corporate doesn’t desire a biological kill switch to offer protection to its research. Patent lawsuits might prove deadly enough.

Engage with Oracle president Mark Hurd, NFL CIO Michelle McKenna-Doyle, General Motors CIO Randy Mott, Box founder Aaron Levie, UPMC CIO Dan Drawbaugh, GE Power CIO Jim Fowler, and other leaders of the Digital Business movement at the InformationWeek Conference and Elite 100 Awards Ceremony, to be held along with Interop in Las Vegas, March 31 to April 1, 2014. See the entire agenda here.

Thomas Claburn have been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications including New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and tv, having earned a not particularly useful … View Full Bio

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