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Russian Officials Dump iPads For Samsung Tablets Over Spy Fears

Posted by timothy on from the putin-actually-invented-it dept.

wiredmikey writes: "Russian government officials have swapped their iPads for Samsung tablets to ensure tighter security, the telecoms minister told news agencies on Wednesday. Journalists spotted that ministers at a cabinet meeting were no longer using Apple tablets, and minister Nikolai Nikiforov confirmed the changeover "took place not so long ago." He said the ministers' new Samsungs were "specially protected devices that can be used to work with confidential information." This isn't the first time Russian powers have had concerns over mobile. In August 2012, Russia unveiled a prototype tablet with its own "almost Android" mobile OS that has the remarkably familiar feel of an Android but with bolstered encryption. In an even more paranoid move, this past July a Russian state service in charge of safeguarding Kremlin communications was looking to purchase an array of old-fashioned typewriters to prevent leaks from computer hardware."

11 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. Someone will make money by gnasher719 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What are the odds that someone high up has a company that offers expensive software to protect Android from spies and makes a ton from this?

    1. Re:Someone will make money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Probably the same as the odds that their fears about their old tablets being exploitable were completely justified.

    2. Re:Someone will make money by bberens · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They should use Windows 8 RT tablets. No one bothered to figure out how to hack both of the users of that platform.

      --
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  2. Paranoia? by FuegoFuerte · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean we aren't out to get them.

    1. Re:Paranoia? by siddesu · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They aren't paranoid enough then. It is hard to see how using a Samsung device with Google instead of an Apple tablet and iOS is making them safer from spying.

    2. Re:Paranoia? by chihowa · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The software delivered on Samsung tablets isn't entirely open source, either. Anyway, iOS is built on Darwin (among many other open source components), which is open source, too.

      None of Google's non-OS apps, including the Play Store, are open source. The words "open source" are not a complete explanation of this situation.

      --
      If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
  3. Fart in a hurricane by benjfowler · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If certain Western intelligence agencies want to attack certain devices belonging to certain people, they'll find a way in, regardless of which mass market POS they're using. They're wasting their time. This is just a pointless gesture.

  4. Globalization by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The iPad: The OS Designed in America, Built in China shipped worldwide.
    Samsung Tablet: The OS Designed in America, Built in China and shipped world wide.

    The only difference is which CEO gets the Cut The one in America or the one in Korea.

    NSA to Apple: Add spying to your OS or you will not be allowed to sell it world wide.
    NSA to Google: Add spying to your OS or you will not be allowed to sell it world wide.
    NSA to Samsung: Insure the spying features in your OS are not disabled unless you will not be allowed to sell in the US.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Globalization by tlhIngan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Android is open source.
      Both countries have the resources to go through Android with a fine toothed comb.

      And AOSP != Android. In fact, who knows what code that Samsung tablet is running. There can be plenty of proprietary code on Android that's binary only, and no amount of analysis of AOSP will find them because that's not the code running on the tablet.

      Code for the GPU is often closed-source. As is camera code, DSP code (for audio), etc.

      And hell, If it's Samsung, it probably ships with Google apps as well, powered by root-owned Google Services Framework.

      They'd actually be better off dumping iPads for those chintzy $100 tablets - those tend to be practically pure Google and very little of it is proprietary.

      Those proprietary blobs will will you.

  5. "Paranoid" by pr0nbot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In the post-Snowden world, I think we can replace most instances of the word "paranoid" with "reasonable".

  6. Re:Zero info in article by LDAPMAN · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A $100 developer license is "impenetrable"? I can run anything I like on my iPad and I can deploy anything I like to the devices in my company.