https://9to5mac.com/2023/07/17/russian-security-service-bans-apple/
Thank goodness I'm not a "Russian official" or I'd be worried that I was being spied on.
The Russian security service, the FSB, has extended its earlier ban on the use of iPhones. The latest ban applies to thousands more government workers, and now includes iPads and Macs.
The FSB has repeated its earlier claims that Apple has provided the NSA with a backdoor into its devices, allowing US security services to spy on Russian officials …
9to5Mac’s Take
As we said previously, it’s entirely credible that the NSA is using spyware like Pegasus or Graphite to hack iPhones used by Russian officials. Indeed, it would be surprising if this were not the case.
But the idea that Apple created a backdoor into iPhones for the NSA is simply absurd: This is the company which took on the FBI over the very same issue.
Narg's take: We're all being spied upon, constantly, no matter whose hardware or what operating system we're using, and ever-more powerful tech has made the data gathered accessible, often in near real-time, to more groups than we can probably imagine.
I'm really tired of these asshat journalists playing checkers
Yes, idiot, Apple didn't want to expose it's backdoor in a court of law during a legal proceeding
is a lot different from apple allowing intelligence communities access to data and forcing them into parallel construction before the data ends up in a court.
This page has been taken down since I last posted about it, but I archived a local copy -- and it speaks to my concerns about how honest Apple has been in its desire to preserve user privacy. "Privacy" is a great selling point for Apple. It isn't something they actually care about, given their actions. They're all-in on the "$16.1 Billion Opportunity" that the Social Credit prison system represents for companies willing to create the infrastructure needed to track and control every damn cent you make or spend.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/worldwide-social-credit-industry-infrastructure-131500901.html
Worldwide Social Credit Industry - Infrastructure to Support Social Credit Systems Represents a $16.1 Billion Opportunity by 2026 - ResearchAndMarkets.com
DUBLIN, December 23, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "SocialCredit Market by Physical and Cyber Infrastructure (Sensors, Cameras,Biometrics, Computer Vision), Software (Machine Learning, Data Analytics,APIs), Use Cases, Applications, Industry Verticals, and Regions 2021 - 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
This is the only report of its type to assess market opportunities for infrastructure support of the social credit market. The report evaluates market drivers, use cases, and consequential impacts/implications (anticipated and likely unanticipated) for social credit market implementation and operation.
The report also evaluates some of the leading companies that are anticipated to drive social credit market evolution. This report includes detailed quantitative analysis driven by market needs with forecasting for all major infrastructure elements from 2021 to 2026.
Companies Mentioned
ACTi
Alibaba
Amazon
Analog Devices
Apple
Aratek
Axis
Baidu
Bosch Security Systems
Broadcom Limited (Avago)
Canon
China Rapid Finance
Cisco
Deep Vision AI
Facebook
Google
Honeywell
IBM
Infineon Technologies
Knightscope
Logitech
NEC
Netradyne
[etc, etc]