RUSSIA BANS GOVT OFFICIALS FROM USING IPHONES OVER US SPYING FEARS

Mon 17 July 2023:

Russia has banned government employees from using Apple iPhones accusing Apple of helping the US government conduct espionage operations, the media reported on Monday.

Government officials at Russia’s trade ministry will be banned from using iPhones and other Apple products for “work purposes” from July 17, the Financial Times reported.

The trade ministry’s ban includes emailed correspondence relating to work activities, said its deputy head Vasily Osmako.

“Security officials in ministries — these are FSB employees who hold civilian positions such as deputy ministers — announced that iPhones were no longer considered safe and that alternates should be sought,” the report said, quoting sources.

The FSB and officials “truly believe that Americans can use their equipment for wiretapping”.

They added while the FSB has “long been concerned about the use of iPhones for professional contacts”, there may be some resistance to the change.

In March, the Kremlin told officials to stop using Apple products, citing fears these devices were vulnerable to US hacking.

Russia’s Federal Security Service claimed in June it had uncovered a “spying operation by US intelligence agencies using Apple devices”. However, the FSB provided no evidence.

The security service claimed several thousand iPhones with Russian SIM cards or registered with Moscow diplomatic missions in Nato countries were “infected” with monitoring software that indicated Apple’s “close co-operation” with the US National Security Agency.

“Everyone in the presidential administration is aware that the iPhone is a completely transparent device and its use for official purposes is unacceptable and prohibited,” Dmitry Peskov, president Putin’s spokesperson, said last month.

Apple has denied working with US intelligence services. The tech company said it “has never worked with any government to build a backdoor into any Apple product, and never will”.

The ban on Apple products at leading ministries and institutions “reflects growing concern in the Kremlin and the Federal Security Service spy agency over a surge in espionage activity by US intelligence agencies against Russian state institutions”, the report claimed.

The Financial Times was told by a Rostec spokesman that restrictions apply to all Apple products.

But it is still permitted to use them for personal use.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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