Apple can’t get within spitting distance of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office without being scrutinized by a herd of patent watchers on high alert. And the company’s recent application for patent US20100207721 — which could lay the groundwork for an iPhone “kill switch” — has raised some eyebrows and some hackles.
The title is “Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device.” This is essentially a security-related patent that covers determining if an unauthorized person is using the device and then shutting down part or all of its functionality. It isn’t a particularly new concept.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the language in the application. Some goofy patent fun arises when Apple suggests recording heartbeats to determine if a user is unauthorized:
“For example, a photograph of the current user can be taken, a recording of the current user’s voice can be recorded, the heartbeat of the current user can be recorded, or any combination of the above. The photograph, recording, or heartbeat can be compared, respectively, to a photograph, recording, or heartbeat of authorized users of the electronic device to determine whether they match. If they do not match, the current user can be detected as an unauthorized user.”
But that’s the not the part that has people worried. This bit is particularly interesting:
“In some embodiments, an unauthorized user can be detected by noting particular activities that can indicate suspicious behavior. For example, activities such as entering an incorrect password a predetermined number of times in a row, hacking of the electronic device, jailbreaking of the electronic device, unlocking of the electronic device, removing a SIM card from the electronic device, or moving a predetermined distance away from a synced device can be used to detect an unauthorized user.”
The word “jailbreaking” stands out. Jailbreaking, a sensitive subject for both Apple and Apple’s customers, involves unlocking the iPhone operating system in order to run applications that aren’t authorized by Apple. A recent ruling by the Library of Congress Copyright Office declared that jailbreaking is perfectly legal. Apple prefers to reward jailbroken phones with a voided warranty. The company argues that jailbreaking can cause instability and opens the device up to malicious attacks.
Also, an alert can be sent to a “responsible party” about unauthorized use. That party can then shut down the phone or even wipe out content. That sounds handy enough. You could get an e-mail alerting you that someone has stolen your iPhone, then take steps to protect your sensitive data. It’s this next part that has bloggers buzzing:
“As yet another example, the responsible party can be a cellular phone carrier for the electronic device. In this case, when the phone carrier receives the alert notification, the phone carrier can, for example, shutdown any telephone service to the electronic device, shutdown the electronic device itself, or otherwise suitably restrict the functions of the electronic device.”
Theoretically, that means a cell phone carrier could shut down an iPhone if it detected that the phone was jailbroken or unlocked. The patent was actually filed in February 2009, well before the official jailbreaking ruling came down. It’s way too early to say if iPhones will suddenly come with kill switches or jailbroken phones will go up in smoke like a message from Mission: Impossible. For businesses, this sort of control could be very appealing.
Whatever your opinion of jailbreaking, there’s no need to get too upset too soon. Apple will not only have to get through the patent process, but also through the scrutiny of its users and watchdogs.
– By Amanda Kooser
