Turn off the Internet, remove automatic updates of applications and software - this is how Russian users
What happened?
IT companies around the world began to impose sanctionsagainst Russia. In particular, this affected the export of technological products. Now large quantities of equipment cannot be supplied to the country. Also, the sanctions affected not only goods from the United States, but also equipment that uses American technology.
In this regard, some Russian companies have begun sending messages to their employees recommending that they disable automatic software and application updates on smartphones and tablets.
However, consumer products such asPCs, smartphones, digital cameras, modems, and so on continue to be put on the market, where they can be purchased by all citizens of the country. The information is current as of March 2022.
Have Apple and Google ever disabled their devices?
According to the managing partner of the boardPen&Paper lawyers Anton Namenov, all export sanctions relate to the sending to Russia of goods that are not related to ordinary civilian needs. They are aimed at reducing the supply of equipment that can be used to rearm the army.
This is a long list, but it does not include smartphones, tablets and software, Imennov noted, with the proviso that the situation is still unstable and can change at any time.
In this case, according to Namenov, the situation can beCompare with what happened in Iran and North Korea, when states imposed sanctions on the import of devices, and also limited access to Google Play and the App Store.
However, Apple and Google have never blocked their devices in a certain territory due to conflict or sanctions.
Switching off smartphones is extremely unlikelyoption, but delimiting Apple ID or Google account accounts with Russia is possible, noted Igor Mikhailov, specialist at the Group-IB Digital Forensics Laboratory (resident of the Innopolis SEZ)
Why disable device update?
According to Group-IB digital forensics laboratory specialist Igor Mikhailov, if a user disables automatic feature updates, this will not save him from remote blocking.
He compared it to the iOS option that helps you find your lost phone, which allows you to lock your device in any state because it's a built-in feature.
“In addition, devices can be lockedon a regional basis. For example, we know that Air Tags in Russia operate in a limited mode and their functionality is limited on a territorial basis. That is, companies like Google and Apple perfectly understand where a particular device is located and can automatically change the set of functions available on the device,” Mikhailov said.
A more reliable option is to turn it off on your smartphoneInternet connection. But this also does not guarantee 100% protection against blocking, since Wi-Fi cannot be turned off in Apple phones: it turns on on its own after a while.
I disabled automatic updates, what are the pros and cons?
If you have disabled auto-updates, then if one of the applications is blocked in Russia, you will be able to delay the ban process.
However, the lack of updates will cause the company to stop tracking errors in the operation of its product, and fraudsters and hackers will be able to exploit this vulnerability.
The idea that disabling auto-updates will make the user less secure was confirmed by information security expert Alexey Lukatsky.
What other technical-related sanctions have been announced?
The sanctions also affected the SWIFT financial system, which is planned to be shut down, and high-tech goods, including advanced computer chips.
US President Joe Biden asked Singapore,Japan and Taiwan - all three are major producers of semiconductors and other high-tech products - to support tough sanctions and export controls against Russia.
Semiconductors are critical componentselectronic devices, in particular, electric vehicles, smartphones and other consumer electronics, medical equipment, appliances, batteries and almost all computer systems.
Semiconductor manufacturing is an incredibly complex process that requires minerals such as silicon and neon.
It is too early to draw hasty conclusions and acceptmeasures that may harm your personal data and smartphone. There are only partial prerequisites that ordinary Russian users will be affected by this problem, but no one can promise that this will not happen.
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