We have always listened a proverb in our childhood, that “An Apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Russian government has taken this proverb too seriously, it seems. According to a report from the Interfax news agency on Friday (via Reuters), the Ministry of Digital Development in Russia, under the direction of Minister MaksutShadaev, has put into place a ban on employees using Apple iPhones and iPads for work-related activities. At an online conference, Shadaev announced that "a restriction has been introduced against the utilisation of (Apple) mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, for accessing work-related applications and exchanging work-related emails." He continued by saying that using iPhones for personal use was still acceptable.
About two months after the FSB, Russia's top domestic security agency, alleged that a significant number of Apple devices had been infiltrated as a result of a U.S.-orchestrated espionage operation, the ministry enforced this restriction. Apple denied these charges, but the U.S. National Security Agency, which the FSB is said to have implicated, opted not to address them at the time.
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree requiring organisations involved in "critical information infrastructure"—a broad category that includes the healthcare, science, and financial sectors—to switch to domestically developed software by 2025, a month after beginning his full-scale 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 allay concerns that western intelligence services have access to sensitive data on Russian government operations.Several thousand iPhones, including those with Russian SIM cards and those registered to Moscow's diplomatic missions in Nato nations, Israel, Syria, and China, were allegedly "infected" with monitoring software that suggested Apple's "close co-operation" with the US National Security Agency.
Long-running disagreements between Moscow and Big Tech over content, censorship, data, and local representation erupted after Russia sent troops into Ukraine. However, Russia has assured Apple that it will review its policy periodically but for the time being, Apple is keeping the Army at bay.
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