Russia orders government workers officials to throw away their iPhones

Date:
Tue, 21 Mar 2023 19:03:09 +0000

Description:
iOS devices banned for Russian officials, and while Android remains permissible, a Chinese and Russian OS is preferred.

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Russian officials involved in the countrys 2024 presidential election have been told that they must not use iPhones because of the reported risk of inteference from Western intelligence.

The countrys daily politics and business newspaper, Kommersant , reported
that officials have until April 1 to find alternative devices.

The news came from Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration, who made the announcement at a government-organized seminar. iPhones banned for Russian officials

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that smartphones should not be used for official business, indicating that the countrys lack of trust isnt specifically centered around Apple, adding: any smartphone has a fairly transparent mechanism.

The Moscow Times reports that the announcement was the final word of a discussion that had been taking place for several weeks.

A source familiar with the decision told Kommersant that the Kremlin may even offer to buy alternative devices for affected iPhone users to make the shift away from American technology easier. Read more

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The Kremlin subsequently advised iPhone users to replace them with Android devices, though even these may one day be banned as the country shifts to Chinese and Russian devices.

Many expect this to be the precursor to a larger move toward Aurora, a Linux-based mobile OS developed by the Russian telecoms giant Rostelecoms subsidiary, Open Mobile Platform (though derived from a Finnish OS).

However, political scientist Nikolai Mironov sees no political incentive behind the decision to ban officials from using iPhones, citing a purely pragmatic solution and no mass rejection of unfriendly brands.

The country has already sought to ban other Western technologies, like video conferencing platform Zoom, from official use in favor of home-grown alternatives, and while sanctions may have initially sent a tremor through
the country the Kremlin is clearly adapting and overcoming many of the recent challenges it has faced. Check out the best VPNs and best proxies



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/russia-orders-government-workers-officials-to-t hrow-away-their-iphones


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