State officials of the Russian republic of Udmurtia have been asked to surrender their Apple products in favor of "simpler" electronics.
The chief of staff and head of government of the republic, Andrey Galtsin, warned on Monday that iPads and iPhones could make Udmurt officials more vulnerable to have their personal information or confidential exchanges leaked.
"It would only take one month to profile any person who uses these [Apple] technologies," Galtsin told government officials on Monday, Interfax reported.
Galtsin added that Apple's operating system "which is supported not by our country [Russia], but by the United States" is a "very easy way through which information can be leaked."
In late March, the Russian cabinet forbade its members to use iPads, insisting that they use Samsung tablets instead. Nikolai Nikiforov, the head of the Communications Ministry, explained that the Samsung products were better equipped to protect confidential information.
See also:
Russian Officials Boycotting Apple Products Amidst U.S. Surveillance Concerns
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