Ministers snub iPhone over security concerns

 

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By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 16 Jun 2010 at 12:27

The iPhone might be selling like hotcakes among the public, but the smartphone remains out of favour in Whitehall.

Ministers are sticking with their BlackBerry handsets because Apple's haven't been given security clearance.

The news comes after Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, asked all government departments which ministers had been supplied with which phones, and all said they had only supplied with Research in Motion's smartphones as this was the only approved handset company.

“The only mobile telecoms or personal digital assistant devices that have been issued to ministers of the department are BlackBerry devices,” wrote Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health Simon Barns in a written response to the question.

“The Department does not issue Apple iPhones to staff as these are not approved for Government use by the CESG.

“CESG is the Information Assurance arm of GCHQ which aims to protect and promote the vital interests of the United Kingdom by providing advice and assistance on the security of communications and electronic data.”

The response was mirrored by all the other departments that have so far responded to the question. Ministerial phones require accreditation from CESG.

CESG told PC Pro that while iPhones were not banned, they were not cleared for use by ministers.

“CESG doesn't ban products,” a spokesperson said. “CESG only assures products submitted to us by vendors and for which there is a demand within Government.”

Apple did not say whether it had applied for CESG certification at the time of going to press.