 "Russia bans iPhones for government officials amid espionage fears: Report")
Russia is set to ban iPhones for government officials and state employees after accusing Apple of assisting the US government conduct espionage operations, reported the Financial Times.
Government officials at Russia’s trade ministry will be banned from using iPhones and other Apple products for “work purposes” beginning July 17, it said.
According to the trade ministry’s deputy head Vasily Osmako, the ban includes emailed correspondence relating to work activities.
The digital development ministry said it will follow suit, while state-owned company Rostec, which is under Western sanctions, said it has already introduced a ban on Apple products.
It comes after the Kremlin instructed officials to stop using Apple products in March, citing concerns that they were vulnerable to US hacking.
“Officials truly believe that Americans can use their equipment for wiretapping,” Andrey Soldatov, a Russia security and intelligence services expert, was quoted as saying by Financial Times.
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In June, Russia's Federal Security Service claimed to have uncovered a "spying operation by US intelligence agencies using Apple devices." The FSB, on the other hand, provided no evidence.
Several thousand iPhones with Russian SIM cards or registered with Moscow diplomatic missions in Nato countries, according to the security service, were "infected" with monitoring software, indicating 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.
Meanwhile, Apple has denied working with US intelligence agencies. The tech company stated that it "has never worked with any government to build a backdoor into any Apple product, and never will."