Senior officers from the Met’s National Mobile Phone Crime Unit (NMPCU) have met with firms including Apple to discuss the new measure, which police see as a key way of tackling handset and identity theft. Cops want to see each phone sold with a password already in place.
Internal research conducted by the NMPCU suggests that up to 60 per cent of phones do not have a password, offering thieves access to a treasure trove of valuable personal information. DCI Bob Mahoney heads up a team of two sergeants and 10 constables at the NMPCU, which works within the auspices of the Met Police, but has a national remit.
In an interview at the team’s offices in West London, DCI Mahoney said he wanted to "target-harden" the UK’s mobile phones. "We are trying to get [passwords] to be set as a default on new phones, so that when you purchase it you will physically have to switch the password off, rather than switch it on," he said. "We have been talking to the industry and government. This is one of the main ideas among a range of measures we are trying to push to protect personal data.