I'm guessing that theives that are knowledgable will be more inclined to steal phones that they know can't be disabled...
-----Original Message----- From: Micheal Espinola Jr [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 7:00 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: SmartPhone Vulnerable to what though? As if your gonna get your phone back anyhow? On 4/1/08, Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Some technical background: > > CDMA = Popular term for the mobile phone standard Verizon and Sprint > use GSM = Popular term for the mobile phone standard AT&T and most > other carriers use ESN = Electronic Serial Number. Unique hardware ID > for a CDMA phone/device. > IMEI = International Mobile Equipment Identity. Unique hardware ID > for a GSM phone/device. > SIM = Subscriber Identity Module. GSM phones have them. They have > their own unique IDs. > > SIMs identify you to the network. Your phone number and service are > associated with your SIM, not the phone. Your phone book is on the > SIM, too. SIMs can be swapped between GSM phones at will. With CDMA, > your account is associated with the ESN of the phone. Changing > devices needs the carrier to intervene. > > Some GSM phones are sold "locked" to a particular carrier/SIM. That > means the phone's firmware is programmed to refuse to work if it > doesn't like the network/SIM it gets. > > On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 3:08 PM, Rod Trent <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I don't understand it, either. But, they suggest that if a phone is > stolen, > > they can turn off the phone from anywhere, whereas, with a SIM > > card, it can't be done. > > Verizon can turn off a Verizon phone from anywhere on the Verizon > network, because they own everything. > > If you report your GSM phone stolen to your carrier, they can flag > the IMEI as such. Even if the thief buys a new SIM and puts it in > your stolen phone, they'll still see the stolen phone on their > network. They can turn it off, or track it down. > > The complication arises when you're in an area that's serviced by a > carrier that isn't on good terms with your carrier's home > jurisdiction. They don't have any incentive to cooperate. > > If CDMA takes off world-wide, then you'll get the same situation. > Scenario: Your Verizon phone is stolen. The thief takes it to the > disreputable carrier in China or Korea or whatever, and says their > brother-in-law gave it to them, and now they're up and running with > your phone. > > If Sprint and Verizon weren't sharing CDMA infrastructure in the US, > it would be happening here today. > > So if you only travel in the US, GSM is as secure as CDMA. If you > go overseas with your international CDMA phone, you're just as > vulnerable. > > -- Ben > > ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~ > -- Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com ME2 ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~ ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~
