The Kremlin recalled the ban on the use of the iPhone by the staff of the Presidential Administration for official purposes

Employees of the presidential administration are prohibited from using the iPhone for official purposes. This was stated by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the disclosure by the FSB of the action of the US special services using these smartphones.

“I know that someone is already abandoning the iPhone, someone continues to use [в личных целях]. But, of course, everyone understands that all these gadgets are absolutely transparent, there is no need to be deceived by anything. They are absolutely transparent, and, of course, their use for official purposes is unacceptable and prohibited,” he said.

Peskov added that he was not aware of cases of infection of such gadgets among the employees of the Presidential Administration.

When asked by journalists whether it is safe for employees to use the iPhone for personal purposes, Peskov could not answer, saying that this would depend on the recommendations of the Russian special services.

Peskov was also asked if the Kremlin considers it necessary to ban Russian officials from using iPhones, even for personal purposes.

“We do not even have the authority to make such recommendations. This, probably, should be guided primarily by the qualified, reasoned opinion of the special services, ”Peskov replied.

The Kremlin spokesman added that civil servants and those with access to state secrets “generally live under certain restrictions.”

Formerly FSB informed about the disclosure of a US intelligence campaign using a virus on Apple mobile devices. According to the FSB, several thousand smartphones of the brand were infected. In addition to Russian users, the special service also found a virus on the gadgets of foreign subscribers using SIM cards registered with diplomatic missions and embassies in Russia. We are talking about infecting the devices of employees of the diplomatic departments of NATO countries and the post-Soviet space, as well as Israel, Syria and China.

At the end of March, Kommersant reported that by the end of the month, employees of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation were instructed get rid of from Apple gadgets. Such a decision, the interlocutors of the newspaper say, was made for security reasons. The Kremlin was unable to confirm this information. Peskov declaredthat for official purposes, employees of the Administration are prohibited from using any smartphones, regardless of the installed operating system.