Samsung in Brazilian strip: Robbers snatch $6.3m in gear from plant Armed robbers have snatched $6.3m in smartphones, tablets and computers from the Samsung Electronics factory in São Paulo, Brazil. The bandits got into the complex by carjacking a shuttle used by factory employees, and held workers hostage while clearing out truckloads of loot, Reuters reported a spokesman for the state’s …
"smartphones, tablets, and computers"
All of which are useless without an internet connection. Presumably Samsung have the serial nos etc. I wonder if they can detect the devices going online.
Same with my TV, whose serial number is registered with LG. Anyone nicks my TV, they'll have to use it in dumb mode.
Yes, there's always going to be workarounds for the odd case. But a truckload ?
One thing the IoT is going to bring, is a lot harder to shift consumer electronics.
Not at all, they will be able to sell it. The IoT actually makes it easier; the buyer won't realize it until after they have bought it. The gang was very organized and was probably an inside job as someone needed inside knowledge of the layout, number of security guards, etc.
The bigger question, does Samsung blacklist the serial numbers so that the buyer of them is screwed or does Samsung just allow them to be used as a goodwill to the buyer? If Samsung blacklists them, the buyer gets a bad experience and blames Samsung.
"Same with my TV, whose serial number is registered with LG. Anyone nicks my TV, they'll have to use it in dumb mode."
It is really not hard to change the broadcast Serial Number of a TV via a modified firmware...A gang with the resources to pull off a heist of this size without anyone getting hurt will easily be able to find someone capable of doing this.
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