09.12 Russia to Consider iPhone Ban for Officials

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) – Russian lawmakers will consider making officials get rid of foreign-made smartphones like the iPhone and instead use the Russian-made Yotaphone over concerns that communication gadgets made abroad may not be secure, the Russian daily newspaper Izvestia reported Monday. 

Anxious over potential government security breaches from the use of smartphones, a Federation Council commission will analyze the vulnerability of some of today’s communication gadgets with a lean towards making officials get rid of mobiles manufactured abroad, Izvestia reported.

Lawmakers interviewed by Izvestia raised questions about the security of foreign-made telephones, implying they would more easily be hacked or spied on than a Russian-made device.

“There will always be distrust toward smartphone manufacturers. Whoever makes the technology can also eavesdrop on it,” State Duma Deputy Vadim Dengin told the newspaper. “I would easily give up [my] smartphone in favor of a domestic smartphone designed specifically for us and by us. In this regard, I have high hopes for Yotaphone.”

The twin-screened Yotaphone, which features a full-color LCD screen on one side and a black-and-white electronic paper display on the other, was launched last week by Russian modem developer Yota.