Apple Watch Banned From Cabinet Meetings Over Spy Fears
Prime minister fears Russians may hack Apple’s smart watch and listen in on sensitive meetings
Ministers have been forbidden to wear the Apple Watch during cabinet meetings due to the risk they could be hacked by Russian agents, according to a report.
Prime minister Theresa May imposed the new rules following several high-profile hacks that have been blamed on Russia, according to The Telegraph, which cited unnamed sources.
Spying fears
“The Russians are trying to hack everything,” said one of the paper’s sources.
Several cabinet ministers previously wore the Apple Watch, including former Justice Secretary Michael Gove, according to the paper.
Mobile phones have already been banned due to similar concerns.
Politically motivated hackers have caused disruption in several recent incidents, including the hack of the Democratic National Committee, which resulted in the release of a large cache of internal emails.
US intelligence and national security officials officially blamed the Russian government for that hack on Friday.
Russian hackers also released medical data on top US athletes over a doping row following the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Late last month Turkish militants released a trove of what they claimed to be 16 years’ worth of emails stolen from three accounts belonging to a senior minister.
The hackers said they obtained the minister’s login details using malware placed on his iPad.
IT security experts have warned that the billions of Internet-connected devices currently in use present a serious security risk that remains to be addressed.
The European Commission said last week it wants to introduce a testing scheme that would help ensure the security of connected gadgets, most of which currently include little or no security protections.
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