Updated Nov. 30 with a new cyber attack targeting Israel’s smartphones.
So this is interesting. Just weeks after Google’s campaign to promote Android as being more secure than iPhone, the smartphone battle has taken a sudden twist. The Israeli military has decided to ban Android phones for senior officers, on security grounds.
The news was broken by Israel’s Army Radio and picked up by The Jerusalem Post. “Under the expected order, commanders from the rank of lieutenant colonel and above will be permitted to use only iPhones for official communications. The step is aimed at reducing the risk of intrusions on senior officers’ handsets, according to the report.”
Even before the current conflict with Hamas and expanding regional skirmishes, there had been multiple reports of “honey pot” attacks targeting Israeli soldiers, to compromise devices and exfiltrate valuable data, including troop locations.
Ironically, just last month Google trumpeted Pixel’s inclusion on the U.S. Department of Defense’s Information Network (DoDIN) approval list. “Google Pixel phones are built on a foundation of mission-ready resilience and intelligent security that is seamlessly integrated into the Google ecosystem,” the company said.
Google describes this new certification as a “significant milestone that underscores our commitment to providing federal agencies with secure, cutting-edge technology.” Given the progress Google has made in locking down Android, especially with Android 16 and its Advanced Protection Mode, this will be disappointing headline news.
Only iPhone and Samsung had made the list beforehand. Google said Pixels “are the highest rated for security features empowering government employees to securely connect and collaborate from virtually anywhere—even the most remote environments.”
Not according to the IDF. This move “follows earlier efforts to harden mobile use,” The Post says, “including training and internal drills designed to raise officers’ awareness of social-engineering tactics. In recent years, the IDF even staged scenarios mimicking Hezbollah-linked “honeypots” to stress-test units’ digital discipline.”
Israel National News reports that “in addition, the new guidelines are expected to ban the use of any military cellphone that is not an iPhone. Android devices will be permitted for personal use but prohibited from any operational or command purposes.”
Google has significantly changed Android in the last 18 to 24 months, shoring up its defenses to better compete with iPhone. The next stage of this is the move to restrict sideloading from next year. But as a locked down ecosystem, iPhone still wins out.
The acute cyber balancing act playing out in the Middle East has not slowed down, irregardless of the ebbs and flows in the physical battles taking place on the ground.
Ynet News reports that a “new Iranian cyber campaign is targeting Israeli officials with deep social engineering.” As ever, there’s a smartphone dimension and it adds fire to the debate as to which ecosystems are better locked down and the need for change.
Israel’s National Digital Agency has now “exposed ‘SpearSpecter,’ a cyber espionage campaign linked to the IRGC, using WhatsApp lures, impersonation and a PowerShell backdoor to target senior defense and government figures.” The group has now “shifted tactics, moving away from broad, indiscriminate cyberattacks to highly targeted espionage based on advanced social engineering.”