In the past we’ve seen how some countries have expressed concern over using another country’s technology. Understandably there might be some fear about governments using local companies to create products for international markets that could allow them to spy on other nations, and in the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks, we guess some of those fears are have been realized.
Perhaps looking to reduce the risk of having national secrets leaked or intercepted, the Russian government has reportedly stopped using iPads in an official capacity. According to the report by Business Insider, the Russian government has instead turned to the use of Samsung tablets.
The Samsung tablets are not your run of the mill Android tablets that you can purchase off the shelf. Apparently these are customized tablets with beefed up security, presumably using technology like Samsung’s Knox to help make the tablet more secure and private for government use.
No reason was given as to why the Russian government decided to make the switch. Some speculate that it could be a way of the government to stop support American products following the sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukrainian crisis, while others speculate that it could be worry that the NSA might have backdoor access to iOS devices, thus allowing them to spy on Russia (and other countries/individuals), a claim which Apple has since denied.