UK government extends cellphone ban during Cabinet meetings to Apple Watch

Posted:
in Apple Watch
U.K. cabinet members have been prohibited from wearing Apple Watch during Cabinet meetings, over misplaced concern that they may be penetrated by Russian spies, and used for covert surveillance and recordings of sensitive government business.









The change in policy is directly linked to new U.K. Prime Minister and"Snooper's Charter" proponent Theresa May. First reported by The Telegraph, one source close to the decision claims that "the Russians are trying to hack everything," which led to the ban.



It is not clear if the ban extends to other smartwatches from other manufacturers, but it does appear to be an extension of the smartphone ban already in place while cabinet business is being conducted.



Under the previous Cameron administration, several cabinet members were spotted wearing the Apple Watch while performing official business, including the former justice secretary Michael Gove.

Is covert monitoring through an Apple Watch possible?



While a rogue Apple Watch app hosted on the App Store is a remote possibility, the user would have to both install it on the "host" phone, and then migrate it to the Apple Watch.



For the user to be completely unaware of the installation, the host iPhone would have to be remotely jailbroken, or stolen and returned, with the same Apple Watch app installation process taking place. In this case, however, the Apple Watch would likely need some sort of jailbreak as well to allow for the surreptitious installation and use of a monitoring app.



Jailbreaks of the Apple Watch are in their infancy, with the effort only seeing limited success in running non-Apple approved software.



Complicating the hack, recordings would have to be stored locally on the watch until the user returns to the vicinity of the phone, as smartphones have previously been barred from cabinet meetings. Additionally, a monitoring app constantly running on the Apple Watch would also be an enormous drain on the battery, noticeable by users.



While technically possible, it appears that May's opinion that the Apple Watch could be used as a covert listening device by foreign powers is off base at this time.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 36
    Can anyone explain why the image is of the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull?

    They are different countries, you know...
    SpamSandwichSolizoetmbrealjustinlonganomejay-tdementuschikanwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 36
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Nah....  given enough time & money, ANY computer system can be hacked.
    .
    Any wise security person knows that it is impossible to keep hackers out of something they are determined to get into.  The goal is to make it hard enough that they go elsewhere...
    mike1cali
  • Reply 3 of 36
    sflagelsflagel Posts: 803member
    Better safe than sorry. Low probability x unlimited damage is a good enough reason not to wear a gadget to Parliament...
    mike1monstrositysteveau
  • Reply 4 of 36
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    To discount the chance of something being hacked is a sure way to ensure that it will be. While it may not be practical for a criminal enterprise, a foreign government only needs it to work once and the amount of resources needed to make it work do not have to go through a cost-benefit analysis.
  • Reply 5 of 36
    Replace "Russia"with "UK"or "USA" in this story to see how much the facts of this story do not change.
    SpamSandwich
  • Reply 6 of 36
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    pg4g0001 said:
    Can anyone explain why the image is of the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull?

    They are different countries, you know...
    I'm guessing an image of Her Majesty The Queen showing her Apple Watch not available. 
    entropys
  • Reply 7 of 36
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Don't worry this just means they're selling. Are android watches still a thing though?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 36
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Michael Gove has an Apple Watch?  I just got a lot cooler on the idea, I wouldn't want to be the same club as that weasel.
  • Reply 9 of 36
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member

    For the user to be completely unaware of the installation...
    Well, we are talking politicians here...   B)
    zoetmbchiawatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 10 of 36
    Down with transparency, all hail unaccountability!
  • Reply 11 of 36
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    pg4g0001 said:
    Can anyone explain why the image is of the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull?

    They are different countries, you know…
    Only pic of a gov't official using an Apple Watch. At least he speaks with a Britishish accent. :tongue: 

  • Reply 12 of 36
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    crowley said:
    Michael Gove has an Apple Watch?  I just got a lot cooler on the idea, I wouldn't want to be the same club as that weasel.
    He also uses an iPhone, lives in a house, and has not cut off his testicles with a rusty garden tool, but there's no need to take the opposite actions of those with whom you disagree.
    ration alberndogchiaentropyswatto_cobrabestkeptsecret
  • Reply 13 of 36
    Down with transparency, all hail unaccountability!
    You can't be transparent about everything, especially when it comes to national security.
    chia
  • Reply 14 of 36
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    Down with transparency, all hail unaccountability!
    You can't be transparent about everything, especially when it comes to national security.
    largely overrated and instead routinely used to block accountability. congress rarely knows anything truly secret and threatening to national security. 
  • Reply 15 of 36
    sflagel said:
    Better safe than sorry. Low probability x unlimited damage is a good enough reason not to wear a gadget to Parliament...
    Procedings in Parliament are NOT secret except on very few issues. I've been to watch proceedings from the public gallery
    They are also broadcast and recorded in the publication Hansard.
    Where phones and watched etc are banned is in Cabinet meetings where all sorts of top secret and non policy things are discussed.
    These are two very different arenas and I can fully understand the reason for the ban in Cabinet meetings. After all, you don't want Putin listening in on every discussion that goes on in the Oval Office now do you?
    {Pehaps he already does....????}
    chia
  • Reply 16 of 36
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    crowley said:
    Michael Gove has an Apple Watch?  I just got a lot cooler on the idea, I wouldn't want to be the same club as that weasel.
    Maybe you shouldn't use toilet paper either, because I hear he does.  
    entropyswatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 36
    "Misplaced concerns"? Really? We are talking about Cabinet meetings (not Parliamentary debates - they're on TV) where the most sensitive issues are discussed. Would you allow a computing device, with a microphone, storage and radio comms to be just taken in?

    This is not a criticism of Apple, or any other manufacturer, just a prudent control. The devices would attract the attention of the best-resourced attackers (excepting, of course, NSA <cough>) and present a top grade information theft threat to the UK. Even without recent events around sophisticated, and successful, attacks from state-supported (presumably) actors on iOS and macOS (Trident), this would be sensible.

    You also have to assume ignorance and naivety from the users about security (that's no a dig at the politicians, it's just reality for most non-techies); the rules must address that reality. To indicate the naivety, several years ago we had a senior counter-terrorism officer carry a sensitive paper document into Downing Street in full view. He clearly didn't understand the technology in the press photographers' cameras: once they viewed the photos at full resolution, they could read the whole page include the classification of 'Secret' at the top of the page! See: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/apr/09/bob-quick-terror-raids-leak
  • Reply 18 of 36
    I completely agree with command_f. 

    What guarantee do any of us have that there isn't a back door into the iPhone or Watch apart from Apple's public statement and some angry and very public complaints from the NSA?

    Similarly, how long was the 'goto fail' flaw known about by security experts and covert agencies before it went public? It wouldn't have been hard to find in the published source code by a motivated team of experts. 

    I'd be horrified if any government or military organisation allowed any such device into any sensitive meeting. 

    I work in content protection where we take any possibility of a security breach very seriously and that's just to protect a few films and cartoons...
  • Reply 19 of 36
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    Soli said:
    pg4g0001 said:
    Can anyone explain why the image is of the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull?

    They are different countries, you know…
    Only pic of a gov't official using an Apple Watch. At least he speaks with a Britishish accent. :tongue: 


    Not really British-ish, just the affected accent of a Sydney Grammar boy with pretentions. The locals probably thought he sounded like Dick Van Dyke when he was at Oxford.

    I'm surprised he didn't spring for an Edition, though.

    luke hambly
  • Reply 20 of 36
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    zoetmb said:
    crowley said:
    Michael Gove has an Apple Watch?  I just got a lot cooler on the idea, I wouldn't want to be the same club as that weasel.
    Maybe you shouldn't use toilet paper either, because I hear he does.  

    Really? I heard that he didn't. At least I think that was what they meant. It might have just been his policies that had the putrid odour of fermented shit about them.
Sign In or Register to comment.