Cool Beans

"Intitiate auto-destruct sequence, authorization code Picard four-seven Alpha Tango."¹

I love this line. Every time all was seemingly lost, some captain would bust out an auto-destruct sequence. Star Trek had it right. Anything of value, especially a Federation star ship in the hands of the enemy, was expendable-- vessel, crew, and all. If the captain couldn't have full control, no one would. It was single-minded, self-centered, and binary. Who cares that there were families on board, that there were tons of people who had no vote in the matter. (I'm sure after a three officer authorization of the self-destruct, some poor yellow-suit in the Engine Room who was doing a level-3 diagnostic would be like, "WTF? I didn't sign up for this!" )

The mobile device industry seems to take on a decidedly diametric view to this. The cellphone is a little data jewel. So much goes into making it a nexus of our lives: It's personal, it's customizable, and oh, hey, there's everyone-who-I-know's personal info on it-- lookie: Email, phone numbers, addresses, even pictures woohoo! But security? Not much more than an afterthought in the list of customizable features.

It's only when we lose possession of these devices that we realize, oh crap, what have I just handed over to some unknown finder-keeper? Only when all is lost that we perhaps think it would be a good idea to be able to remotely deactivate, or better yet erase, the device no longer under our control.

Erase Data on iPhone 2.1
by dailylifeofmojo

This happened recently to someone I know, and while the item in question was located with much relief (and a little ridicule), thoughts of security, lost data, and sensitive information went through our minds. I am happy to finally see Apple hearing our requests for an auto-destruct sequence. Well, not quite. It's not as cool as telling your phone to kill itself, but it adds a level of "only I can have it" to our preciousss. The premise is that you are already using the Passcode Lock functionality on your iPhone. This is a given. If you're not using it, you deserve the trouble you're in for.

But some argue passcodes aren't enough. Four digits, even with time-delayed failed attempts, still had some hacks in older firmware versions. And given enough time and patience, a person could brute-force their way into your data.

Enter iPhone Firmware 2.1. No fanfare or extra attention was drawn to this new security feature. In fact I was ranting to someone about remote wipe capability when it was pointed out to me that the feature was already implemented and can be turned on via the General Settings menu. Ten failed passcode attempts and bye bye data. W00t. It is supremely satisfying to be corrected mid-rant about a feature long on the security wish list. I remember during the Treo 650 days, I used a program called mSafe. A simple SMS to the Treo with a special user-configured text message, and you could remotely lock or even completely wipe the phone. It's basically an "authorization code two six Delta Gamma," but for your communicator. Why the idea never caught on with other mobile OS's still puzzles me.

Computrace has a program that purportedly lets the subscription service operators wipe a Windows machine remotely if stolen. This functionality does not yet exist for Macs as far as I know. I would love to see more "if I can't have it, no one will" security built into desktop and mobile client software.

Voice-activated would be even cooler.