Officials who’re concerned in preparations for Russia’s 2024 presidential election have been instructed by the Kremlin to keep away from utilizing Apple iPhones because of worries that the units might be exploited by Western intelligence businesses, in keeping with the Kommersant newspaper.
At a Kremlin-organized seminar for officers concerned in home politics, Sergei Kiriyenko, first deputy head of the presidential administration, instructed officers to alter their telephones by April 1, Kommersant mentioned, citing unidentified sources.
“It’s all over for the iPhone: either throw it away or give it to the children,” Kommersant quoted one of many members of the assembly as saying. “Everyone will have to do it in March.”
When requested in regards to the concern on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned he couldn’t affirm the report.
“Smartphones should not be used for official business,” Peskov instructed reporters. “Any smartphone has a fairly transparent mechanism, no matter what operating system it has – Android or iOS. Naturally, they are not used for official purposes.”
The Kremlin could present different units with completely different working techniques to interchange the iPhones, Kommersant mentioned, including that the order to stop utilizing iPhones had been directed at these concerned in home politics – for which Kiriyenko is accountable.
President Vladimir Putin has at all times mentioned he has no smartphone, although Peskov has mentioned Putin does use the Internet sometimes.
Shortly after Russia despatched its troops into Ukraine final yr, U.S. and British spies claimed a scoop by uncovering – and going public with – intelligence that Putin was planning to invade. It is unclear how the spies obtained such intelligence.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
