The Kremlin has asked officials involved in the preparations for the 2024 Russian presidential election to stop using Apple iPhones over concerns that the devices are vulnerable to Western intelligence agencies, the Kommersant newspaper reports. news.
At a conference organized by the Kremlin for officials involved in domestic politics, Sergei Kiriyenko, first deputy chief of staff to the presidential administration, asked officials to change phones before the date. April 1, Kommersant quoted an unnamed source as saying.
“It’s all over for the iPhone: either throw it away or give it to the kids,” Kommersant quoted one of the participants as saying. “Everybody’s going to have to do it in March.”
Asked about the matter on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he could not confirm. report.
“Smartphones should not be used for business,” Peskov told reporters. “Every smartphone has a fairly transparent operating mechanism, no problem operating system it has – Android or iOS. Of course, they are not used for official purposes.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kommersant said the Kremlin could provide other devices with other operating systems to replace the iPhone, adding that the iPhone ban was targeted at people involved in domestic politics – which Kiriyenko said must be responsible.
President Vladimir Putin has always said he doesn’t have a smartphone, although Peskov said Putin occasionally uses the Internet.
Shortly after Russia sent troops into Ukraine last year, US and British spies announced a scoop by uncovering – and making public – intelligence that Putin was planning an invasion. It is unclear how the spies obtained such intelligence.
