The Putin administration has instructed members of its domestic policy bloc to stop using iPhones by the end of the month, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Monday, citing multiple sources who were at the meeting where the announcement was made.
“iPhones are done. [We were told to] either throw them away or give them to our kids. Everyone will have to by the end of March,” one source reportedly said.
According to the sources, Kremlin officials believe iPhones are more vulnerable to hacking and espionage from the West than other smartphones. Employees were reportedly told to replace their Apple devices with phones that run Android operating systems, its Chinese analogues, or the Russian Linux-based operating system Aurora.
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