Or if you could set a “self-destruct” or “wipe disk” passcode. We toyed with a similar idea for ATM cards in Massachusetts after a woman in Boston was abducted,

Or if you could set a “self-destruct” or “wipe disk” passcode. We toyed with a similar idea for ATM cards in Massachusetts after a woman in Boston was abducted, forced to withdraw money from her bank account and then brutally murdered. The idea being that you’d have a PIN and an optional “911 PIN” that would work exactly the same but alert authorities. The PIN would grant you access to accounts and give you money, etc. so anyone holding a gun to your head would be clueless but by entering the 911 PIN authorities would know you were in need of immediate assistance. It was ultimately scrapped because the regulator backed off of requiring additional ATM security once the news stopped covering the murder. But the same concept could be applied to unwanted cellphone intrusions.