The Ministry of Communications and Mass Media suggested on Tuesday that Apple should reveal its source codes to Russian experts.
Ministry officials voiced concerns about information leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden during a meeting on Tuesday with Apple's regional director Peter Engrob, and Vyacheslav Orekhovy, regional head of European software corporation SAP.
"Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013 and the public statements of U.S. intelligence services about increased Russia surveillance in 2014 have called into question the reliability of foreign software and hardware," Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov said in a statement.
"It is obvious that those companies that disclose the source codes of their programs are not hiding anything, but those who do not intend to cooperate with Russia in this regard may have products with undeclared capabilities," he added, noting Microsoft has been offering up its source codes since 2003.
This is not the first time Russian officials have expressed concern about the security parameters of Western-made computer products.
In March, Russian Cabinet members were forbidden from using iPads. Samsung tablets were promoted as the tablet of choice. Nikiforov justified the decision by saying that Samsung products were better equipped to protect confidential information.
While on one hand Russian officials have pledged to fight for information privacy, on the other the Interior Ministry announced last week it would be offering nearly 4 million rubles ($114,000) for research on the collection of Tor user data. Tor is an anonymous web surfing network that, among other things, enables users to visit websites blocked in their country.
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