In another turn of events, Russian authorities have moved to ban iPhones and other Apple products as a part of their efforts to crackdown on spying concerns against the American tech giant. The ministry of Trade has directed that starting Monday, there will be a ban on iPhones for “work purposes.” Both the ministry of digital development and Rostec, the state-owned firm that has been subjected to western sanctions for supplying Russia’s war machine in Ukraine, have indicated that they will follow suit or have already enacted bans.
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There is a growing concern in the Kremlin and the Federal Security Service spy agency. Such a ban against the range of Apple products at various ministries and institutions in the Kremlin suggests a surge in espionage attempts by U.S. intelligence agencies against Russian state institutions.
A source that is close to a government agency that banned Apple products stated, “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 alternatives should be sought.”
Previously, President Vladimir Putin had directed the agencies and organisations that are engaged in “critical information infrastructure,” a broad term that includes healthcare, science, and the financial sector, to transition to domestically developed software by 2025. This came a month after Russia launched a full-blown invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow’s long-standing intention to force state institutions to abandon foreign technologies was reflected in the action. The latest directive, according to some Russian analysts, won’t do much to eliminate concerns that western intelligence services have access to sensitive data on Russian government operations.
According to Andrey Soldatov, a Russian security and intelligence services expert, the Russian officials “truly believe” that America could use their technology for wiretapping. Soldatov stated, “The FSB has long been concerned about the use of iPhones for professional contacts, but the presidential administration and other officials opposed [restrictions] simply because they liked iPhones.”
As per an individual close to the government agency, such bans are already in effect or soon will be in the finance and energy ministries and other governmental entities. According to the commerce ministry’s deputy head, Vasily Osmakov, other ministries have adopted the prohibition on email correspondence pertaining to work-related tasks. According to another source close to one ministry, “The specialists of the IT department report when someone opens their work email from an iPhone. It’s easy to control.”
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