According to a report originally posted on Mashable.com, Apple has filed for a patent covering that will actually enable the company to effectively ‘kill’ the company’s so-called jailbroken devices – including the iPhone and the iPad - under the guise of protecting users from theft.

The Cupertino, California-based Apple’s February-filed patent application covers different methods for identifying as well as disabling unauthorized use – like jailbreaking and other hacks - of Apple products.

The system that the company has described in the patent will help in controlling jailbreaking – running code gives users access to extensions and themes unapproved by Apple - because it is equally applicable to the theft of an Apple device as well as its willing jailbreak by users.

The key focus of the patent is on measures that can help identify stolen devices and protect sensitive information, like credit card numbers and passwords, stored on those devices. Once a theft of a device is reported, all the sensitive data stored on that device can be sent to any remote storage server of Apple and then erased completely from the device.

In addition, with the patent also covering methods for identifying devices that have been hacked, jailbroken, unlocked or had their SIM cards removed since Apple will be able to effectively monitor unexpected increases in memory usage, which can “indicate that a hacking program is being run and that an unauthorized user may be using the electronic device.”