The Israeli army has taken a big step in view of the security threat. Now all officers from Lieutenant Colonel and above will be able to use only iPhone for government work. The Army says that there is a high risk of hacking, spyware and honey trap attacks on Android phones. This order comes at a time when soldiers have been targeted through social engineering and fake accounts in recent months. The aim of the army is to protect sensitive information at any cost.
Big decision of IDF
According to the reports of Israel’s Army Radio and Jerusalem Post, now all military officers from Lieutenant Colonel and above will be able to do official talks and communication only through iPhone. The Army says that the risk of hacking on Android devices is many times higher and enemy organizations can easily target them. Especially in the past years, IDF officers and soldiers were trapped through honey traps and social engineering, after which location and sensitive data were stolen by putting viruses in the phones. To eliminate this menace, a clear and strict policy has now been implemented.
Why ban Android?
Reports say that Android is an open system in which hundreds of companies make phones and any app can be easily downloaded. This is the reason why the risk of spyware, malware and viruses increases significantly. On the other hand, the ecosystem of iPhone is completely controlled and closed, where entry of third party apps is very difficult. Apple’s security layer and constant monitoring seemed more reliable to the IDF. For this reason the Army completely excluded Android for official use.
Google Pixel also failed
Just a few weeks ago, Google had claimed that the Pixel phone is more secure than the iPhone and it also got a place in the DoDIN list of the US Department of Defense. Google had described it as a mission-ready security phone. But the Israeli army did not accept these claims. According to reports, the IDF examined the security capabilities of the Pixel, but found the iPhone to be more secure and reliable. This decision shows that the IDF still considers Apple the most secure platform for high-level military security requirements.
Prior training, honey trap practice and new phone protocol
Before this step, the IDF had trained its officers several times on cyber security and to avoid social engineering. Mock drills of “honey pot” or “honey trap” attacks carried out by Hezbollah and other enemy organizations were also conducted to keep officials on alert. Now under the new rule, officers can keep Android personally, but will have to use only iPhone for official work, meetings, location-related matters or any confidential activity. All the official phones given by the army will also now be iPhone only.
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