The Kremlin Orders Officials To Refuse iPhones

They are advised to use the Russian Aurora instead.

Employees in President Vladimir Putin's administration have been strongly recommended to change their iPhones for smartphones of other brands with other operating systems. Russian newspaper Kommersant reports, citing several officials who attended the seminar in the Moscow region, that the officials were recommended to change their phones by the end of March.

One of the newspaper's interlocutors says there was initially a discussion among the seminar participants about the need for such a measure, but Sergey Kirienko, first deputy head of the AP of the Russian Federation, said that iPhones must be replaced by April 1.

Kremlin officials were recommended to switch to smartphones with the Android operating system, a Chinese development based on it, or the Aurora operating system, developed by a subsidiary of Rostelecom. The reason, sources say, is security. The Kremlin believes that the Apple technology, compared with other smartphones is more vulnerable to hacking and espionage, which can be carried out by "Western specialists".

The paper's sources say that regional officials have been recommended to refuse iPhones.

The paper points out that the Putin administration units that are supposed to oversee the 2024 election have been instructed to refuse iPhones. However, it is not clear who initiates the order - Kiriyenko, the FSB, or the military counterintelligence service.