iPhone theft is rampant. Here at GadgetTrak we have done our best to create an application to assist with theft recovery of the device, even providing our iPhone application for free, however due to limitations of the SDK we are restricted in what we can do right now on the device, without background processes or other hooks like those that the Blackberry and Windows Mobile provide we will not be able to offer the same level of protection as we offer for other platforms.
From our research we have found that although there are limits to what we as a third-party can do to help victims of iPhone theft, both AT&T and Apple could do a lot more themselves. We have also found that both AT&T and Apple actually benefit from the theft of an iPhone.
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GadgetTrak has recovered a stolen iMac in New York that had GadgetTrak installed. The system was stolen two weeks ago and then connected to the Internet two days ago, the device was recovered this morning. GadgetTrak’s MacTrak software captured a photo of who was using the system as well as pinpointed the location within a few meters, all of the data was uploaded automatically to the device owner’s Flickr account and email. The NYPD followed up and recovered the system, along with two other stolen laptops from different cases.
The device was tracked using GadgetTrak’s Wi-Fi positioning to a tattoo parlor in Brooklyn, where the iMac and the other laptops were found in a back office.
We received an email from our customer with a photo of him and his recovered iMac, as well as this great testimonial:
” After a previous burglary of my home, I installed GadgetTrak on my iMac desktop, a computer I cherished for its power and sleek appearance. Sure enough, six months later, I was robbed again. However, with the help of GadgetTrak and the NYPD, I got my computer back! Like insurance, this software was something I debated on getting. When I did, I hoped I would never have to use it and was only buying peace of mind, yet it has proven its value fifty times over. The police were able to recover two other stolen computers as well. Words cannot express my gratitude for this genius software. ” - A
From the Associated Press, “A piece of anti-theft software built into many laptops at the factory opens a serious security hole, according to research presented Thursday.” Research by Alfredo Ortega and Anibal Sacco with Boston-based Core Security Technologies, and presented Thursday at the Black Hat security conference here, shows how BIOS based security software can allow a criminal to take control of a machine.
GadgetTrak’s Laptop Security software is not vulnerable to this security hole, as our software does not need to be embedded in the BIOS of the system, nor allow a backdoor into the system. Measures taken by GadgetTrak in the architecture of our solution to protect users privacy also mitigates the risk of such an attack. As GadgetTrak’s software does not provide a back door into the system that monitoring center staff can acccess and the tracking data is sent to the owner of the device, there is no back door into the system that would allow an attacker to take control of the system.
The company that makes the software in the study claims that the findings are not true, however has not provided proof to the contrary. It is interesting to watch the company on Twitter, having employees Tweet that it is not true repeatedly, maybe if you say something enough times it will be true. Instead evidence should be presented to consumers and manufacturers, as the agent is embedded in 60% of laptops on the market, just not activated on all of them. Consumers have the right to more information regarding this security hole and not just a company saying “it is not true,” this is both irresponsible and shows a lack of respect for their customers.
