“Russian government officials have swapped their iPads for Samsung tablets to ensure tighter security, the telecoms minister told news agencies on Wednesday,” AFP reports. “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.'”
“Nikiforov denied that Russia was clamping down on US technology in response to Western sanctions imposed over its takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula. ‘We are not proposing any sanctions,’ he said,” AFP reports. “But he did mention reading reports that ‘American special services… will significantly increase the volume of information they intercept (which) of course causes serious concern to many governmental clients.’ He added that South Korean firms such as Samsung, along with Chinese ones, could be interesting to Russia in this respect.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take:
The formula ‘Two and two make five’ is not without its attractions. — Fyodor Dostoyevsky
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “botvinnik” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Google’s Sundar Pichai: Android not designed to be safe; if I wrote malware, I’d target Android, too – February 27, 2014
Cisco: Android the target of 99 percent of world’s mobile malware – January 17, 2014
U.S. DHS, FBI warn of malware threats to Android mobile devices – August 27, 2013
Android app malware rates skyrocket 40 percent in last quarter – August 7, 2013
First malware found in wild that exploits Android app signing flaw – July 25, 2013
Mobile Threats Report: Android accounts for 92% of all mobile malware – June 26, 2013
Latest self-replicating Android Trojan looks and acts just like Windows malware – June 7, 2013
99.9% of new mobile malware targets Android phones – May 30, 2013
Mobile malware exploding, but only for Android – May 14, 2013
Mobile malware: Android is a bad apple – April 15, 2013
F-Secure: Android accounted for 96% of all mobile malware in Q4 2012 – March 7, 2013
New malware attacks Android phones, Windows PCs to eavesdrop, steal data; iPhone, Mac users unaffected – February 4, 2013
FBI issues warning over Android malware attacks – October 15, 2012
Researchers discover serious flaw in Android app security, say HTC and Samsung ignore issue – September 28, 2012
Apple’s iPhone has passed a key security threshold – August 13, 2012
Android permissions flaw allows eavesdropping, data theft, location tracking – December 2, 2011
Massive HTC Android security flaw leaves security expert speechless – October 2, 2011
Apple’s iOS unaffected by malware as Android exploits surge 76% – August 24, 2011
Android malware records phone calls; iPhone users unaffected – August 2, 2011
Symantec: Apple iOS offers ‘full protection,’ Google Android ‘little protection’ vs. malware attacks – June 29, 2011
Malware apps spoof Android Market to infect Android phones – June 21, 2011
Google forced to pull several malware-infested apps from Android market – June 8, 2011
Android malware sees explosive growth; even faster than with PCs – April 27, 2011
Virus-laden apps infest Google’s ‘open’ Android platform; iPhone unaffected – March 3, 2011
Security firm warns of new Android trojan that can steal personal information; iPhone unaffected – December 30, 2010
Trojan infects Android smartphones; iPhone unaffected – August 10, 2010
Millions of Android phone users slammed by malicious data theft app – July 29, 2010
Unlike proactive Apple, reactive Google doesn’t block malware from Android app store – June 4, 2010
Malware designed to steal bank information pops up in Google’s Android app store – January 11, 2010
Yet another sign that Putin has completely lost it.
It is not Putin this time (he is not into personal electronics), it is ignorant pseudo patriots.
The irony of this stupid move is that Samsung’s devices have USA’s operating system anyway, so I am not sure what is the point (there is none, cheap “patriotic” PR not unlike renaming “French Fries” ten years ago).
Not lost it all. He has set his sights next on the Korean peninsula!
Not true. Russia will decompile and treat all of Android as if it were open source. Then they will build a more secure OS out of that. They are not choosing Android the Google OS; They are choosing to go at it alone so nobody can hack it without facing a firing squad.
“There are four lights!” – Captain Jean Luc Picard
Awesome
Good news. Now the NSA can explore the tablets of all the Russian officials with ease.
Exactly: just couple of weeks ago Samsung Galaxy devices were confirmed to contain “backdoor” (comparing to “pure” Android; though it can also contain “backdoors” since actual code is closed, unlike source of core of Android OS).
Let’s not let the Russians know the good news of switching to the 99% Malware 4 sure devise they have now 🙂
NSA get them!!!
Calling all hackers against land grabbing Russians.
They deserve them.
Somehow I don’t think iOS 7 is your biggest problem…
Russia’s Government is pure stupid. And Val Putin is blooming damn idiot, plus a freaking Communist! Samdung and Putin deserve each other. Let the love begin! LOL
Unfortunately, Putin is not communist; he is “oligarchist”.
he’s rootin’ tootin’ Bad Vlad Putin!
Yup. Putin Power and American Apple be damned.
there’s no refutin’, he’s highfalutin’, no-shirt shootin’, ex-KGB salutin’ Bad Vlad Putin…
ya’ darn tootin’!
Thanks for your deep and thoughtful political analysis. Really helped me understand the situation.
The NSA will love this.
My sentiments exactly.
My thoughts to. But what I really thought about was the term “security”. If you take it to mean Russian Security like NSA security, then it would mean “we feel more secure if we can read everything on your device and nothing is hidden”.
Since I can’t do that with iOS, I guess we’ll use Android.
So they will change a US product made by the country’s most trusted brand for a Korean product made by a notorious IP thief, with software made by a no less notorious information thieving company fro the US (and also an IP thief). Good Move !!!
I guess they’re looking for security through complexity. Or perhaps the cold war was so cold it froze their brains.
Maybe the Russian government can give its iPads to the Ukraine people. Lord knows they deserve a little happiness…
If Russia had a tech industry worth a fig, they’d be able to make their own tablet computers. Samsung runs Andriod and that’s just as American as Apple’s OS. So they are unlikely to avoid the NSA by switching between to US software developments.
Wasn’t it Android with a Kernal flaw allowing privilege escalation to take over all 1 billion Android devices that was announced just last week?
1) a = b
2) ab = b^2
3) ab-a^2 = b^2 – a^2
4) a(b – a) = (b + a) (b – a)
5) a = (b + a)
6) a = (a + a) // because of #1) b = a
7) a = 2a
8) 1 = 2
Then 1 + 1 = 2 or 3 or 4
so 2 + 2 = (1 + 1) + 2 = 3 + 2 = 5
Conclusion: 2 + 2 can be = to 5
Sorry, but because of 1), dividing by (b-a) in 4) is dividing by zero — which is ruled out.
Multiplying by zero… no? But also ruled out.
No. Look what happened between step 4 and step 5: Both sides were divided by (a-b) which is zero because of the statement in step 1. Just as hannahjs indicated.
Ah yes. Thanks. I was looking solely at (b + a) (b – a).
you have obviously been dying to get that one out in a thread but it seems of little use in this debate.
42!
“What is the product of 9 and 6?” 😀
That’s so funny, those Russian are very funny people.. they mocking right?
Google just announce that the NEXT version (that that don’t exist just yet) will be finally business compatible because of security, so those Russian guys must be just kidding about samsungs being more secure, right?
http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/26/business-friendly-android/
“it’s a crazy Ivan!” – Tom Clancy
Where’s the +500 button?!
You realize said file systems are shown inside each app that uses the files they need (IE Goodreader for ad, etc)
That is the most idiotic argument I’ve seen. Try again..
Yes, the file system and flat look is causing mass migration… Oh-kay…….
Careful with your application of logic there: By your coupling of cause and effect you should realize that because your effect is known false (and unprovable true) your cause is called into question as well.
It’s unprovable in the true because you can’t migrate from a hardware device to an operating system — it’s nonsensical. We understand what you mean, but in fact research from the big guys shows “android” to be all manner of things and Google’s method of counting “tablets” to be flawed (if not phone activating, count as tablet).
It’s known false because there’s nothing to stop an iPad owner from buying an Android-based Blu-ray player; but to measure that as a migration away from iPad is again nonsensical.
Unless they changed something, outside of image, video and audio files I think the ‘file system’ you are referring to is specific to the App.. For example I am not aware of any text file accessing App in iOS that can see text files created in any other text file accessing App on the same device w/o it first sending out the text file to the cloud/pc so that it can be downloaded into the 2nd Apps own ‘file system’. The sandboxing of Apps in iOS is a double edged sword in that sense.
Again fuck off. Are you deaf or just stupid.
Fuckwit
In Soviet Russia, security tightens you!
you see moose and squirrel go by?
Natasha overslept while Boris missed squirrel standing in long line for Put In.
Looks like Samsung’s celebrity promotional team has changed their attention to Russia.
Free tablets for everyone!
Syrian rebels prefer to use iPads to correct the trajectory of their mortars. They don’t use Galaxy tabs. Putin — good luck with that! I like their strategy. I like it a lot!
Nikiforov based his actions on advice from neutral Swiss Consultants who are famous for holes in their cheese!
Maybe they are just deceiving the NSA. They keep using iPads and tell the whole world is an android tablet. In politics and in war nothing is what it seems.
I suppose the NSA is throwing a party for the security choice of the Russians. Now we and they can hack each other until blindness.
Oh, indeed. Bravo Russia. <-PWNed
This article was brought to you by Google News. That in itself should alarm the reader about possible coercion to promote the android operating system.
Hmmm… 90% malware, spyware, DNS attacks on Android software is safer. Good for Russia. Have fun with that.
Samesung promised Russia it would purchase the falling ruble if Putin takes a selfie with his billionaire oligarchs.
While the reasoning is suspect, ala KGB, the result is to be expected.