UK’s new Prime Minister Theresa May has instituted ban against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple Watches during UK cabinet meetings citing fears that they might be used for spying.
The new ban prevents UK cabinet ministers from wearing Apple Watches while attending Cabinet hearings. According to a report by The Telegraph, people familiar with the situation stated that the ban was put in place because of fears that Russians could be listening in by hacking the Apple Watch.
“The Russians are trying to hack everything,” one of the anonymous sources told The Telegraph.
During former UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s stay in office, a few cabinet ministers would be spotted wearing Apple Watches during the cabinet meetings. During that time there were no fears of the Apple Watch being used as a spy device. However, phones were banned from the cabinet meetings in 2013, so it follows that Apple Watches would most likely suffer the same fate.
The UK seems to be highly paranoid about Russia spies though Russia is believed to be one of the most comprehensive hacking activities in the world. Russia recently faced hacking accusations from the US which claims that the Russian government hacked into the presidential campaigns. The US also believes that Russia might have been responsible for hacking the emails of the Democratic National Committee.
“The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations,”stated the US Department of Homeland Security.
The UK is not willing to take its chances with Russia and that is probably why the country has instituted the ban. The UK Prime Minister does not want any sensitive information discussed during the cabinet to be leaked because it might put the government in an awkward situation.
Apple stocks closed the latest trading session at $116.05, marking an improvement by $1.99 or 1.74% compared to the closing price of the stock in the previous session.