A new technology, available in SA this week, will make it possible to recover lost or stolen PDAs and cellphones running Windows Mobile or Symbian.
Keypad Mobile Security Solutions MD Mogano Madigoe says the company will distribute Phone Bak, developed by Singapore's BAK2u.
Madigoe says it will easily and effectively bring the "ethically-challenged" to book. Should a cellphone or PDA be stolen and a new SIM card inserted, the software will send an SMS to two numbers chosen by the owner, without the knowledge of the device's possessor. The SMS will show the phone number associated with the SIM card inserted and an approximate location that can then be used by the authorities to trace the culprit.
Keypad operations director Tshepo Makokoe says his company is in talks with Vodacom and cellular retailers to sell the product. During its launch period, the software will be distributed free with a monthly subscription of between R10 to R15.
Cost considerations
After the launch window, the purchase price will be R55. "We are trying to keep the cost at a minimum and are absorbing a lot of the costs ourselves," Makokoe says. He adds Phone Bak will not only mean getting a lost or stolen phone back, but could also bring down the cost of insurance for both the insured and the insurer.
Commenting on observations by World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck, that the software is "a great short-term solution, but - in the long term - cellphone thieves would learn how to remove it", Makokoe says it is indeed a risk. "But it's a long shot and not expected in the near future. In any case, any technology will look to improve itself going forward."
MTN appears ambivalent about the technology. MTN law enforcement liaison officer Chris Dobson says the software will identify the Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network (MSISDN) used by an individual after the date of theft, "but this information alone is limited. The police would have to subpoena the relevant mobile network in order to obtain the call data records for the MSISDN in question and only then will they be able to try and identify the suspect," he says.
"Secondly, the first MSISDN used after the theft may not even be the thief's MSISDN as the handset could change hands many times before a new SIM is inserted in the unit. However, in SA law, this person would also be regarded as a thief."
BAK2u also has distributors in Latvia, France, Australia and Dubai.
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