Russia’s iPhone ban and the digital supply chain
Russia’s
Kremlin
ordered
officials
to
stop
using
iPhones,
apparently
over
concerns
the
devices
could
be
vulnerable
to
Western
intelligence
agencies,
Reuters
reports.
Russia’s
Kremlin
ordered
officials
to
stop
using
iPhones,
apparently
over
concerns
the
devices
could
be
vulnerable
to
Western
intelligence
agencies,
Reuters
reports.
When
surveillance-as-a-service
firms
sit
exposed
for
brazenly
undermining
device
security,
it’s
hard
to
think
there
isn’t
an
argument
there.
But
the
bigger
story
isn’t
the
harm
to
Apple’s
small
business
in
Russia,
it’s
the
threat
to
digital
supply
chains
it
shows.
We
must
protect
digital
supply
chains
Having
spent
years
attempting
to
build
robust
physical
supply
chains,
it
would
be
easy
to
imagine
things
should
get
better.
But
a
new
threat
to
business
is
emerging
as
digital
supply
chains
struggle
in
the
face
of
political
fragmentation.
This
was
part
of
the
discussion
at
Mobile
World
Congress
in
2023,
according
to
Orange
Business
CEO
Aliette
Mousnier-Lompré.
She
wrote:
“I
was
struck
by
general
worries
of
pretty
much
everyone
I
have
spoken
to
around
what
the
world
politics
can
mean
in
terms
of
fragmentation
of
the
digital
supply
chains.”
That
fragmentation
isn’t
solely
represented
by
smartphone
tribalism
in
Moscow.
It
won’t
simply
see
nation
states
invest
in
new
operating
systems
designed
to
protect
state
assets.
It
is
unlikely
to
cease
with
dystopian
control
over
internet
content
or
data
protection.
It
could
conceivably
extend
to
damaging
the
standards
that
form
the
foundation
of
all
the
tech
we
use.
If
they
don’t
work
together,
they
don’t
work
at
all
We
already
see
traces
of
this.
Think
about
the
dozens
of
smart
home
standards
that
are
only
now
attempting
to
coalesce
inside
the
Matter
smart
device
standard.
Think,
too,
of
the
three
flavors
of
5G
that
exist.
In
the
context
of
our
times,
these
represent
the
thin
end
of
a
threatening
wedge.
Predicting
the
impact
of
such
a
threat
is
far
from
easy:
but
if
you’ve
ever
lost
data
after
plugging
your
device
into
a
public
USB
power
outlet,
you’ll
probably
have
some
idea
of
what’s
at
stake.
How
long
will
it
remain
an
open
secret
that
C-class
execs
sometimes
throw
away
their
smartphone
after
visiting
some
places
because
they
think
it
likely
they’ve
been
hacked?
What
threats
exist?
While
there
are
always
multiple
threats,
two
primary
threats
to
digital
supply
chains
exist.
That
same
mentality
can
easily
extend
to
the
deliberate
confection
of
security
failings
within
open-source
components
to
the
standards
so
much
of
our
technology
uses.
What
might
the
consequences
be?
The
consequences
of
these
threats
could
be
profound:
-
Digital
supply
chain
failures
threaten
physical
supply. -
Data
can
be
lost,
stolen,
monitored,
abused. -
Companies
may
suffer
reputational
damage
in
consequence. -
Financial
damage
is
a
real
possibility.
Not
only
these,
but
as
digital
is
now
embedded
within
every
business
process,
threats
to
digital
supply
chains
may
impact
every
industry,
generating
additional
consequences
and
potentially
threatening
national
security.
Think
about
it.
In
today’s
digital
business
environment,
the
“services”
category
is
something
much
bigger
than
Ted
Lasso
and
Apple
Music;
it
also
encompasses
myriads
of
complex
cloud
services
cunningly
crafted
for
specific
business
use.
Such
services
must
work
well
together,
be
available
across
multiple
platforms,
and
need
to
be
security
first.
That
need
certainly
extends
to
artificial
intelligence
—
why
would
any
company
want
to
depend
on
a
business
AI
that
isn’t
transparent
concerning
what
happens
to
data
entered
into
the
system?
Where
do
those
questions
go
when
asked,
and
who
has
access
to
them?
How
does
a
business
navigate
these
threats?
As
always,
security
remains
a
primary
consideration.
On-site
and
off-site
backups
become
critical.
A
business
must
spend
time
considering
data
sovereignty,
particularly
around
use
of
cloud
services.
Knowing
where
a
server
is
situated
isn’t
solely
important
to
stay
on
the
right
side
of
GDPR
rules,
it’s
also
about
ensuring
a
business
knows
where
that
data
goes
across
its
entire
journey.
And
where
it
might
leak.
Redundancy
also
matters,
and
in
the
context
of
unstable
digital
systems,
it
makes
sense
for
enterprise
leaders
to
consider
how
to
build
more
resilient
digital
connections,
perhaps
using
private
5G
networks
or
leased
physical
connections
to
form
resilient
backbones.
We
need
better
decisions
But
ultimately
tech
firms
including
Apple,
business
leaders,
and
politicians
need
to
consider
the
consequences
of
the
decisions
they
make
on
interoperability.
Because
if
interoperability
between
standards,
platforms,
and
systems
is
not
maintained,
the
digital
glue
driving
the
aspirations
of
the
few
who
believe
economic
growth
is
even
remotely
possible
in
an
environment
characterized
by
climate
collapse,
political
polarization,
and
resource
scarcity
will
come
to
naught.
To
save
the
economy,
digital
interoperability
is
critical,
privacy
essential
and
security
mandatory.
This
extends
to
state-mandated
backdoors
and
nation-state
invested
hacks
into
digital
devices
that
should
be
obsessively
eradicated
to
deny
dictators
such
as
those
in
the
Kremlin
an
argument
in
the
first
place.
At
its
simplest,
in
the
digital
world,
no
one
is
safe
until
all
are
safe.
Good
luck
with
that.
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me
on Mastodon,
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