iPhone and iPad approved to handle classified NATO information (opens in new tab)

(apple.com)

124 pointsthrowfaraway428d ago62 comments

62 comments

The interesting point here is that an off the shelf consumer product has been approved by NATO for any level of classification for the first time, not which level of classification.

> The devices are now officially approved to handle classified NATO information up to the "restricted" level. This is not about specialized, rugged phones built for the military or locked-down, government-only hardware. It applies to regular iPhones and iPads running standard iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. According to Apple, no other consumer devices have this distinction.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-iphone-ipad-nato-classif...

bigfatkitten28d ago

NATO RESTRICTED is not a particularly high classification. Its handling requirements are a very, very small step above unclassified.

What holds Apple back in the classified space is not security shortcomings in the platform per se, but the fact that there’s no way to initialise and manage a fresh iPad without public internet connectivity. That’s an absolute dealbreaker.

wslh28d ago

I understand that this is mainly about the Apple business where having an endorsement/certification is a barrier of entry for others, even if it's artificial.

dist-epoch27d ago

What actually is military-grade technology:

Both Ukraine and Russia use Discord to stream live drone footage.

Ukraine uses various Android tablets to run it's super-classified Delta battlefield management system.

bigyabai28d ago

"NATO Restricted" is the lowest-tier of NATO classification. It does not require security clearance to access, and mostly exists to prevent the leaking of information.

mark_l_watson28d ago

+1 I came to make the same point. Basically unclassified. Pretty weak press release!

irishcoffee28d ago

Commercial products don't generally go from unclass to TS/SCI in one jump. We should anticipate this isn't the end, given how these types of contracts are generally structured.

figassis28d ago

So most NATO people will have access to this level, so it's where most devices will be sold.

KK7NIL28d ago

Presumably most NATO personnel will have a significant amount of data at higher restriction levels, arguably making these devices of little use to them. It's a pain using a device that you can load some data, but not other.

runlaszlorun28d ago

This deserves to be the top comment.

NoiseBert6928d ago

Restricted?

Even the monthly consumption of toilet paper on a base has this classification.

buildbot27d ago

You could possibly infer an estimate of base staff based on that info; not like a great number, but a number.

woleium27d ago

more importantly you could see how it changes over time

1 more reply

WillAdams28d ago

Big change from when Steve Jobs killed the Newton and one unspoken reason was the USMC having just had a _very_ successful trial and being in the process of getting Apple approved as a DOD vendor.... (yes, I'm still salty that the only Apple products I've bought since my MessagePad were OpenStep 4.2, and two iPods for my daughter --- the MacBook I use doesn't count since work bought that --- at least Samsung and Amazon use Wacom EMR in their products, though neither is fully a replacement for my Newton....)

tokyobreakfast28d ago

You're forgetting Casey Fucking Ryback!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDlpPs19NU0

Teever28d ago

I've wondered how the world would be different right now if Jobs was still alive.

Asshole as he was, there's no way he would have stood for the kind of shit that is going on in America, and he would have vindictively used all of his resources as the largest shareholder of Disney and CEO of Apple to fight it.

Jobs was obviously not the greatest guy, and harmed a lot of people around him but it's unlikely that he would be seen within a mile of the current President and certainly wouldn't have been photographed in the WH handing him a tacky gold and glass paper weight like Cook.

pokstad28d ago

Jobs was the rare person outspoken with unconventional wisdom. Don’t assume he would agree with your popular opinions.

1 more reply

gehsty28d ago

He would have understood the potential of LLMs straight away. If he would have delivered a successful product no one knows but 100% would have understood how LLMs could become another interface to computers.

I think his pitch would have been like garage band but for making apps “now anyone can make an app” feels very Jobsian.

3 more replies

toyg28d ago

Maybe. Or maybe he would have just sent a close associate or relative, like his big friend Ellison does.

1 more reply

peyton28d ago

Tim gave Trump the paper weight.

Steve met once with Obama and complained about the fact Obama did not ask for the meeting personally, that it was too hard to build factories in America, and that teachers unions were kneecapping the American education system.

All signs point to Trump and Jobs becoming thick-as-thieves. Sorry.

4 more replies

bigyabai28d ago

If we have to rely on the canny benevolence of a random CEO to prevent the world from going to shit, then we truly deserve to live in the shit world. Steve made businesses larger-than-life, and I expect his behavior played no small part in conditioning tech enthusiasts to respond to Trump and Elon's hyperbolic, baseless rhetoric.

Hamuko28d ago

Apple has grown quite dramatically in value since his death. Not sure if he would have the leeway to oppose Trump as an officer of a publicly traded company when he's shown to be quite vindictive against companies he doesn't like.

surgical_fire27d ago

He was a billionaire. It's foolish to believe he was any less of a sociopath than other billionaires.

Most likely he woult thrive as a contemporary oligarch.

1 more reply

runjake28d ago

Three things come to mind, up front:

- Steve Jobs wouldn't have personally donated $1 million to the Trump campaign.

- Steve Jobs probably wouldn't have presented a gold bar to Trump.

- Steve Jobs would have been better at manipulating (reality distortion field) Trump.

frumplestlatz27d ago

Do you have a source for that USMC trial and that “unspoken reason”?

I don’t remember any such thing at the time, and I can’t find any source for the claim.

WillAdams27d ago

If memory serves, the trial was covered in a sidebar in _Pen Computing Magazine_ as well as _The Marine Corps Times_, and the whole thing was discussed on comp.sys.newton a bit, with SJ not wanting to be a defense contractor being put forward as one reason among many (not profitable, not working well, bad publicity ("Eat up Martha"), pet project of Sculley, &c.)

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

62 comments

GeekyBear27d ago

The interesting point here is that an off the shelf consumer product has been approved by NATO for any level of classification for the first time, not which level of classification.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-iphone-ipad-nato-classif...

bigfatkitten28d ago

NATO RESTRICTED is not a particularly high classification. Its handling requirements are a very, very small step above unclassified.

wslh28d ago

I understand that this is mainly about the Apple business where having an endorsement/certification is a barrier of entry for others, even if it's artificial.

dist-epoch27d ago

What actually is military-grade technology:

Both Ukraine and Russia use Discord to stream live drone footage.

Ukraine uses various Android tablets to run it's super-classified Delta battlefield management system.

bigyabai28d ago

"NATO Restricted" is the lowest-tier of NATO classification. It does not require security clearance to access, and mostly exists to prevent the leaking of information.

mark_l_watson28d ago

+1 I came to make the same point. Basically unclassified. Pretty weak press release!

irishcoffee28d ago

Commercial products don't generally go from unclass to TS/SCI in one jump. We should anticipate this isn't the end, given how these types of contracts are generally structured.

figassis28d ago

So most NATO people will have access to this level, so it's where most devices will be sold.

KK7NIL28d ago

runlaszlorun28d ago

This deserves to be the top comment.

NoiseBert6928d ago

Restricted?

Even the monthly consumption of toilet paper on a base has this classification.

buildbot27d ago

You could possibly infer an estimate of base staff based on that info; not like a great number, but a number.

woleium27d ago

more importantly you could see how it changes over time

1 more reply

WillAdams28d ago

tokyobreakfast28d ago

You're forgetting Casey Fucking Ryback!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDlpPs19NU0

Teever28d ago

I've wondered how the world would be different right now if Jobs was still alive.

pokstad28d ago

Jobs was the rare person outspoken with unconventional wisdom. Don’t assume he would agree with your popular opinions.

1 more reply

gehsty28d ago

I think his pitch would have been like garage band but for making apps “now anyone can make an app” feels very Jobsian.

3 more replies

toyg28d ago

Maybe. Or maybe he would have just sent a close associate or relative, like his big friend Ellison does.

1 more reply

peyton28d ago

Tim gave Trump the paper weight.

All signs point to Trump and Jobs becoming thick-as-thieves. Sorry.

4 more replies

bigyabai28d ago

Hamuko28d ago

surgical_fire27d ago

He was a billionaire. It's foolish to believe he was any less of a sociopath than other billionaires.

Most likely he woult thrive as a contemporary oligarch.

1 more reply

runjake28d ago

Three things come to mind, up front:

- Steve Jobs wouldn't have personally donated $1 million to the Trump campaign.

- Steve Jobs probably wouldn't have presented a gold bar to Trump.

- Steve Jobs would have been better at manipulating (reality distortion field) Trump.

frumplestlatz27d ago

Do you have a source for that USMC trial and that “unspoken reason”?

I don’t remember any such thing at the time, and I can’t find any source for the claim.

WillAdams27d ago

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse