“Russia has proposed that Apple Inc and SAP hand the government access to their source code to make sure their widely used products are not tools for spying on state institutions,” Maria Kiselyova reports for Reuters. “The suggestion that two of the world’s flagship technology companies disclose some of their most sensitive business secrets comes as the United States and Europe debate their most severe sanctions yet against Russia for its role in Ukraine. On Tuesday, the United States imposed a new round of sanctions, hitting three Russian banks, including the country’s second-biggest, VTB. The European Union reached agreement on Tuesday on its first broad economic sanctions, marking a new phase in the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.”
“The Russian proposal was voiced last week when Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov met Apple’s general manager in Russia, Peter Engrob Nielsen, and SAP’s Russian managing director, Vyacheslav Orekhov, the Communications Ministry said in a statement,” Kiselyova reports. “It said the proposal was designed to ensure the rights of consumers and corporate users to the privacy of their personal data, as well as for state security interests.”
“While couched in the language of protecting privacy, any Russian move to force these companies to divulge the inner workings of their software could pose a major threat to their viability if they were to lose control of the source code. ‘Edward Snowden’s revelations in 2013 and U.S. intelligence services’ public statements about the strengthening of surveillance of Russia in 2014 have raised a serious question of trust in foreign software and hardware,’ Nikiforov said in the statement released late on Tuesday,” Kiselyova reports. “He was referring to bombshell disclosures by the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor that revealed widespread NSA snooping through eavesdropping on popular technology products and services. Since then, experts have concluded that U.S. government-backed standards for software encryption have created backdoors for the NSA to spy on users.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Delusional.
Russia can of course develop its own OS and give it to all the “Stans’ it controls by proxy. No one else will use it.
If they want Apple products then they will have to accept them as is or ban them from government use – its entirely their choice. No one is forcing them to buy – worse yet they could stick with M$.
Is this the same Russia that had hacked every device that accessed the internet at the Sochi Olympics? Yeah, we’ll just give you the source code no problem, Mr. Putin.
#idiots
Well, that isn’t exactly what happened at the Olympics. But I strongly expect they WISH they could have. Loony request like this one from Russia are no doubt one method of making sure they CAN spy via iPhones in the future. (O_o)
From: Tim Cook
To: Vlad the Lad
Fsck off!
=:~)
Chas, Vlad may not fully understand internet profanity, but here is a “word” he will get:
отвяжись
It means the same but without the internet “translation”
😉
Good luck with that, Mother Russia.
The state of human paranoia and FUD on planet Earth.
Russia is worried about someone spying on THEM! Ha! Great work, spying organizations of the world: Businesses NOT in the spying trade have to suffer for YOUR crimes. A state of lunacy.
Obviously, gathering intelligence of others among our contentious and murderous species is, sadly, important. But keep the business world OUT OF IT! Apple will wisely and rightfully IGNORE Russia’s request.
Hey Russia: Go make your own cruddy, security hole ridden iPhone knockoff that NO ONE wants to use because they KNOW you’re spying on them. That’s what loony China is doing! 😛
“..you see moose and squirrel go by?”
“Boris Dahlink. How are ve goink to spy on moose and squirrrel if they are usink iPhone?”
“nyet, my Natasha! Come to my dacha this weekend, I show you my ICBM.”
This is particularly funny on several levels.
– Apple holds privacy and confidential data far more seriously than any other company.
– if Apple hasn’t caved in to the NSA, they aren’t going to do so for Russia.
– Russia is concerned about privacy issues? RUSSIA??
– a veritable haven for IP violations demands proprietary source code? Haha.
Finally, it continues to amaze me how organizations and governments continue to take whatever Snowden said with any measure of seriousness. His ‘revelations’ were empty and non-news.
Off topic…
I don’t care who like a this or not. I’m not american, I don’t live in America and I think Snowden is a traitor and should go to court.
Every country spy, every country tries to gather as much informations as it can. Every country does (or should do) this.
Snowden is a traitor and what he did to the U.S. before the rest of the work is wrong.
You can bet that every other countries that criticised the U.S. for the allegations Snowden said also do the same. Every country do the same, just nobody talks about it.
I hope the U.S. are be able to get this guy.
Oooops! Shame we don’t have the option to edit a post. Sorry for the typing errors.
*…who likes this or not
*…before the rest of the world is wrong
They only way this makes any sense is if this is some kind of test, and Apple has to say “no” to Russia to pass it.
Because, if Apple really did fork over its source code that would prove it caves to governments demands for access to its source code and therefore cannot be trusted.
Don’t worry. I emailed it to them this morning. Sorry for not letting everyone know.
HA HA HA HA HA HA…. Putin is such a kidder
ps. what a loser
Give them SAP. They will never be able to figure that crap out! If there was ever a POS platform that’s the one.
I never thought I could get a quick history lesson on Eastern Europe from a Mac FanSite. I just love the MDN comments section.
mbwhahahaha, hey Vlad you forgot to say ‘please’. Where are your manners? Apple, copy Kim-Jong-Un while you’re at it, he also wants a peep at that code.
If I was Tim Cook I wouldn’t fly my Gulfstream over Russian (or Ukrainian) airspace.
No chance at all in getting that info.
Is it 1st April already.
It comes round quick.
April 1st? Try August 1st.
NOT “MacDailyNews Take: Delusional.” BUT Realistic.
Germany dosen’t want to use Windows 8 for similar reasons.
The problem is CCCP can copy or worse infiltrate Apple’s OS’s for their own spying!
should be MacDailyNews Take: Delimma