Could Apple disable all phones in Russia?

Question

Just thinking about the equivalent of a nuclear bomb in technology. Is it theoretically possible that their closed source includes some doom switch? I suppose it can't be can't be done with Android being open source.Please note I am not in favor of this just curious.

wanderer_ · Accepted Answer

> Android being open sourceWell, it's not exactly like that. Things like cellular modems are almost always closed source, and those are normally integral parts of the phone itself. Then there's proprietary parts of Android itself (the kernel is open, but not necessarily all of the software surrounding it) - not to mention things like hardware blobs.All of this to say, it could certainly happen to Androids the same way that it theoretically could happen to iPhones. But then, on top of the ethical question, there comes the question of practicality - would we really want to focus on disabling phones when things like converting cheap phones into cellular jammers would have a more direct effect on the Russian military?Anyway, there's my $0.02...

neverminder · Answer

I've been saying this for days. If Apple, Google and Microsoft remotely wiped and bricked their devices, that would cause devastation that would make all those financial sanctions look like a picnic. I mean, for crying out loud, apparently russian soldiers are using google maps for targetting, so that would also save some ukrainian lives too.

arisAlexis · Answer

It would be interesting to even deliver a message to the people like a notification for example alerting about the state of the war crimes or such. It's almost an act of war though.

323 · Answer

They can remotely disable store apps. Maybe they can also disable system apps or specific functionality.
Maybe they can also disable the whole phone until you update it, and the update will brick it.
All of these capabilities are nice to have to be able to deal with critical security issues.

supreme_berry · Answer

No switch, but if Biden signs software export ban Apple will shutdown services for Russian users (along with Google and every other company).https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/02/22/us-could-hit-russ...

Could Apple disable all phones in Russia?

Just thinking about the equivalent of a nuclear bomb in technology. Is it theoretically possible that their closed source includes some doom switch? I suppose it can't be can't be done with Android being open source.
Please note I am not in favor of this just curious.

It would be interesting to even deliver a message to the people like a notification for example alerting about the state of the war crimes or such. It's almost an act of war though.

They can remotely disable store apps. Maybe they can also disable system apps or specific functionality.
Maybe they can also disable the whole phone until you update it, and the update will brick it.
All of these capabilities are nice to have to be able to deal with critical security issues.

No switch, but if Biden signs software export ban Apple will shutdown services for Russian users (along with Google and every other company).
https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/02/22/us-could-hit-russ...

Could Apple disable all phones in Russia?

Just thinking about the equivalent of a nuclear bomb in technology. Is it theoretically possible that their closed source includes some doom switch? I suppose it can't be can't be done with Android being open source.Please note I am not in favor of this just curious.

It would be interesting to even deliver a message to the people like a notification for example alerting about the state of the war crimes or such. It's almost an act of war though.

They can remotely disable store apps. Maybe they can also disable system apps or specific functionality.Maybe they can also disable the whole phone until you update it, and the update will brick it.All of these capabilities are nice to have to be able to deal with critical security issues.

No switch, but if Biden signs software export ban Apple will shutdown services for Russian users (along with Google and every other company).https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/02/22/us-could-hit-russ...

Just thinking about the equivalent of a nuclear bomb in technology. Is it theoretically possible that their closed source includes some doom switch? I suppose it can't be can't be done with Android being open source.
Please note I am not in favor of this just curious.

They can remotely disable store apps. Maybe they can also disable system apps or specific functionality.
Maybe they can also disable the whole phone until you update it, and the update will brick it.
All of these capabilities are nice to have to be able to deal with critical security issues.

No switch, but if Biden signs software export ban Apple will shutdown services for Russian users (along with Google and every other company).
https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/02/22/us-could-hit-russ...