PRESS: Russian president’s office staff asked to disuse iPhones

MOSCOW, Mar 20 (PRIME) -- The staff of the internal political circle of the Russian president’s administration must replace their iPhones, if they use them, with smartphones of other brands and another operating system by April, business daily Kommersant reported on Monday.

Several sources told the daily that these employees were ordered at a seminar held in early March in the Moscow Region to get rid of iPhones by early April. One of the sources said that the participants started to discuss the necessity of the move, which was ended by Sergei Kiriyenko, first deputy chief of staff of the presidential executive office, who set the deadline for his employees on April 1.

A person familiar with the matter told the daily that the Kremlin may purchase new safe smartphones for its staff.

The sources said that the request to replace iPhones is explained by security measures, because these gadgets can be more likely hacked and bugged by Western specialists in comparison to other smartphones.

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