"iPhone, Throw It Away or Give It to Your Children," Russian Presidential Office Issues 'iOS Ban'

iPhone Use Prohibited Due to Security Concerns
Domestic OS or Android Recommended

The Russian Presidential Administration has banned the use of iPhones among some employees within the organization due to security concerns.

According to local media such as the Moscow Times on the 20th (local time), the Russian Presidential Administration communicated a policy earlier this month instructing employees in domestic policy, information and communication technology and communication infrastructure development departments, and public project staff to dispose of their iPhones and cease using them. The disposal deadline is reportedly set for the 31st of this month.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

This measure was taken based on the assessment that iPhones are more vulnerable to hacking and espionage activities by Western expert groups compared to other smartphones. An employee from one of the related departments told local media, "The iPhone is finished now," adding, "They should be discarded or given to children."

Accordingly, from the 1st of next month, employees will only be allowed to use smartphones equipped with the Android operating system or Aurora (Avrora), an operating system developed domestically.

The Russian daily Kommersant reported, "The Kremlin (Presidential Office) urged employees to replace their iPhones with Android or Chinese or Russian-made analog mobile phones," adding, "The Kremlin's iPhone ban is part of efforts by the Russian government to establish sovereignty in the mobile ecosystem based on operating systems (OS) such as Aurora, which were developed directly by the government, and to separate the country from Western technology."

Since the end of last year, Russia has been discussing the establishment of a mobile ecosystem that is not dependent on technologies from Western IT giants such as Apple, during which the Aurora operating system was developed.

Some have pointed out that this measure by Russian authorities might be politically motivated. In response, local political analyst Nikolai Minorov stated, "The ban on iPhone use by Presidential Administration employees is purely due to security issues, not a rejection of unfriendly brands." He added, "In places where there is no risk of information leakage, iPhones and others are still being used."

Meanwhile, last year, Russian authorities also required public officials to use domestically developed messaging programs for official activities and to use Russian-made video conferencing platforms instead of 'Zoom,' which is used worldwide, during video meetings.