previously reported that disconnecting Western smartphones used in Russia from the telephone network could be a new enforcement measure.
In Russia, there is a fear of their western smartphones being disconnected from the telephone network, reported earlier today.
– Living rooms are now discussing whether iPhones will turn into pumpkins after New Year’s holidays, editor-in-chief of the Russian news channel RT Margarita Simonyan described (you switch to another service) fear of Russians.
How could Russian smartphones be practically disconnected from the telephone network remotely?
The manufacturer could implement the software with regional restrictions
Disconnecting Western smartphones from the Russian telephone network is at least theoretically possible, but its implementation is not simple.
Elisa’s security director Jaakko Wallenius says that phone manufacturers make different versions of their phones’ software for different countries and market areas.
– At least in theory, the manufacturer could implement software with country- or network-specific restrictions, for example in connection with use in Russia, Wallenius tells .
However, according to Wallenius, the introduction of such a software version to a phone that has already been purchased and used would require downloading a new software version and updating the phone.
It would therefore not be possible to force a new restricted software version onto a phone that is already in use.
It can be assumed that users in Russia would not download an update to their phone that would paralyze their own phone.
Technically, however, it would be possible for Western companies to pre-install a software version on new phones and other smart devices that would limit the use of the device in Russia.
Apple products flow to Russia despite the sanctions
In ‘s previous story, University Researcher at the University of Helsinki Mariëlle Wijermars said that especially the iPhone phones of the technology company Apple are sought-after status symbols in Russia.
Depressing the use of Apple products would also have a huge disruptive effect on the functioning of the entire Russian society, Wijermars estimates.
After Russia attacked Ukraine, Apple stopped selling its products to Russia. Officially, Apple has not sold its products in Russia since the beginning of March last year.
Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia Denis Manturov said last fall that Russia arranges for Apple and other western companies’ desired products to be offered to Russians as parallel imports.
Parallel import refers to the import of goods into Russia without the consent of the trademark holder and past an authorized distributor. Russian retailers buy the products from middlemen, who in turn have bought the Western products legally.
Apple products are systematically brought to Russia, especially from other countries of the Eurasian Economic Union.
The member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union are Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Russia.
– Why not? If [venäläiset] consumers want to get those phones, so please. They have the opportunity, Manturov commented on the parallel import of Apple products last September (you switch to another service).
Manturov also estimates that with the help of parallel imports, Russia will be able to import Western imports worth around 16 billion euros in 2022, news channel CNN (switch to another service) told.
More than 2.2 million iPhones were sold in Russia last year, according to a Russian newspaper Vedomosti (you switch to another service) tells.
According to the news agency Reuters, for example, the 128 gigabit storage version of Apple’s new iPhone 14 model was sold at the beginning of September for around 85,000 rubles, or a good 1,100 euros. The price of the new phone was the same as in Finland.
Read also: The West has one sanctions card that has not yet been tried, and that is what the Russians are now afraid of