Russian officials to stop using iPhones due to risk of ‘Western intelligence’

The United States’ paranoia of Chinese intelligence is pretty well known, with them having placed sanctions on multiple companies like Huawei as well as continued efforts to get TikTok banned in the US. However, it seems that the tables have turned, with Russia this time worried about potential Western intelligence agencies finding its way to the Kremlin via American technology.

According to Reuters, Moscow has apparently directed its officials who are involved in preparing for the upcoming Russian 2024 presidential election to stop using Apple iPhones. This is allegedly due to security concerns about them being vulnerable to Western intelligence, with first deputy head of the presidential administration of Russia Sergei Kiriyenko the one who made the call during a seminar for these officials. A Russian newspaper even claimed that officials were asked to throw away their iPhones or give it to their children, and that it’ll be all over for the Cupertino-designed smartphone by the end of the month.

Kremlin however has not officially confirmed the report, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov only saying that smartphones shouldn’t be used for official purposes anyway. This is down to their ‘transparent mechanisms’, regardless of whether their Android or iOS based. The Russian newspaper also claimed that the Russian government might provide smartphones running other devices to officials as a replacement for their iPhones. Notably, Vladimir Putin himself doesn’t use a smartphone, though he is known to use the internet likely through a computer.

Incidentally, there is actually a Russian homebrew mobile operating system out there already. Called the Aurora OS, it’s a Russian mobile platform based on Sailfish OS, a well established Linux-based mobile OS. It is being developed by Rostelecom, the country’s biggest digital services provider that’s owned by a Russian state development corporation. However, it’s uncertain if Russia will actually go through with issuing out Aurora OS-based smartphones to officials that need to get rid of their iPhones.

[ SOURCE ]