Russian Officials Stopped Using iPads

According to a new report, we have learned that Russian government officials have decided to stop using iPad tablets which have been replaced by Samsung tablets. The reason for this is a bit strange as it is basically the fear of the United States using Apple’s iPad tablets to spy on Russia. However, if we think about some of the recent events, namely the NSA spying on Huawei, the move to switch from American made tablets to non American made tablets should not surprise us. It seems that the new Samsung tablets used by Russian officials are “specially protected devices that can be used to work with confidential information.“, according to minister Nikolai Nikiforov.

In light of recent geopolitical events, namely the annexation of Crimea by Russia, this move by Russia shouldn’t surprise us. However, Russian officials claimed that this decision was not connected in any way with the recent Ukrainean crisis nor with the fact that the Western powers imposed sanctions on Russia following the takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula. Minister Nikolai Nikiforov did mention that “American special services… will significantly increase the volume of information they intercept (which) of course causes serious concern to many governmental clients.“, probably referring to recent rumors that the NSA and the US government are monitoring iDevices. Even though the rumors were denied by Apple, Russia choose to use devices made in another country.

Almost four years ago, in 2010, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (then President of Russia) visited Apple and even received an iPhone by none other than Steve Jobs, though the smartphone was locked to AT&T?s network which meant Dmitry Medvedev was not able to use it back in Russia. In any case, Russia seems to look to other countries (such as China and South Korea) for technology, as fears of the United States using American devices for spying purpose grow bigger for Russian officials.