Disablement of lost or stolen device
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
- receiving at a disablement service that communicates over a cellular network with a mobile device an indication that the mobile device has been lost or stolen;
transmitting over a cellular network a disable command to the mobile device, wherein the disable command is a disablement communication signal that is permitted for communication under restricted use of the cellular network even when cellular network connectivity to the mobile device has been disabled via software controls on the device or by removing a physical authentication card of the device;
receiving the disable command at the mobile device; and
performing a disable action on the mobile device in accordance with the received disable command.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The restricted use of a cellular network to facilitate disablement of a device that is suspected lost or stolen. Accordingly, even if the device is not capable of general use of the cellular network, disablement communications are still permitted across the cellular network. Accordingly, the device may receive a disable command from the disablement service over the cellular network, and acknowledge processing of the disable command to the disablement service also over the cellular network. Thus, efforts by an unauthorized possessor of the device to prevent disablement by removing the physical authentication module are thwarted. Likewise, turning the cellular service off using software settings at the device also does not prevent the device from being disabled via cellular network communication.
38 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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receiving at a disablement service that communicates over a cellular network with a mobile device an indication that the mobile device has been lost or stolen; transmitting over a cellular network a disable command to the mobile device, wherein the disable command is a disablement communication signal that is permitted for communication under restricted use of the cellular network even when cellular network connectivity to the mobile device has been disabled via software controls on the device or by removing a physical authentication card of the device; receiving the disable command at the mobile device; and performing a disable action on the mobile device in accordance with the received disable command. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer program product comprising computer storage media storing executable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, perform a computer-implemented method, and wherein the stored executable instructions cause the computer-implemented method to perform the following:
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receive at a disablement service that communicates over a cellular network with a mobile device an indication that the mobile device has been lost or stolen; transmit over a cellular network a disable command to the mobile device, wherein the disable command is a disablement communication signal that is permitted for communication under restricted use of the cellular network even when cellular network connectivity to the mobile device has been disabled via software controls on the device or by removing a physical authentication card of the device; receive the disable command at the mobile device; and perform a disable action on the mobile device in accordance with the received disable command. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer environment system configured with an architecture comprising:
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a disablement service that communicates over a cellular network with a mobile device and is configured to receive an indication that the mobile device has been lost or stolen; a cellular network that is configured to transmit a disable command to the mobile device, wherein the disable command is a disablement communication signal that is permitted for communication under restricted use of the cellular network even when cellular network connectivity to the mobile device has been disabled via software controls on the device or by removing a physical authentication card of the device; wherein the mobile device is configured to receive the disable command; and wherein the mobile device is configured to perform a disable action on the mobile device in accordance with the received disable command. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification