Mobile targets

摘要

A cellphone is stolen every 45 seconds in Britain. The government says the cellphone industry isn't doing enough to make the phones less attractive targets for thieves. But while some astonishing blunders by the networks and handset manufacturers make it easy for criminals to resell working phones, the government must share the blame. "We repeatedly warned the Home Office about this problem, and the Department of Trade before them," says Ross Anderson at Cambridge University. The Foundation for Information Policy Research, which monitors the impact of technology on society and which Anderson co-founded, has continually pointed out to the government how easily stolen phones can be reused. "We were resolutely ignored," says Anderson. When a phone is stolen, the owner's account―details of which are stored on the SIM card slotted into the phone―is frozen. This prevents anyone making calls and fraudulently running up airtime bills. But thieves can still use the phone itself. Software available over the Internet can prompt most phones to reveal the PIN numbers used to lock keypads―although many users never bother locking them anyway. Then, by simply swapping the owner's SIM card for a new one, the phone can often be used. But some handset makers are tackling this: most Nokia phones now freeze if anyone swaps the SIM card.