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The Israeli military has decided to ban Android phones for senior officers

“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.”

So it seems that Israel (one of the leading country in hackers spies for hire) thinks that there’s a lot « Hezbollah honey pot » that target android device

[-] SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 40 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Israeli company Cellebrite sells a device to extract data from locked phones, both Android and iPhones afaik. So indeed I'm guessing their government knows some stuff about the security of both platforms.

Fun fact: comments mentioning Cellebrite get immediately shadow-hidden on Reddit, or at least in some of the main subs.

[-] kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 week ago

In 2021, Moxie Marlinspike, creator of the encrypted messaging app Signal, pointed to several vulnerabilities in Cellebrite's UFED and Physical Analyzer software that allowed for arbitrary code execution on Windows computers running the software. One exploit he detailed involved the UFED scanning a specially formatted file, which could then be used to execute arbitrary code on the computer running the UFED. Marlinspike wrote that the code could then "[modify] not just the Cellebrite report being created in that scan, but also "all previous and future generated Cellebrite reports" from all previously scanned devices and all future scanned devices in any arbitrary way."[27] Marlinspike also found that Cellebrite software was bundled with out-of-date FFmpeg DLL files from 2012, which lacked over 100 subsequent security updates. Windows Installer packages, extracted from the Windows installer for iTunes and signed by Apple, were also found, which he said raised legal concerns.[28] Cellebrite responded that the company "is committed to protecting the integrity of our customers' data, and we continually audit and update our software in order to equip our customers with the best digital intelligence solutions available."[29] The report by Signal followed an announcement by Cellebrite in 2020 that it had developed technology to crack encrypted messages in the Signal app, a claim the company later retracted and downplayed.[30][31] The announcement by Marlinspike raised questions about the integrity of data extracted by the software,[32][33] and prompted Cellebrite to patch some of the vulnerabilities found by Signal and to remove full support for analyzing iPhones.[34][35]

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellebrite

Sounds like it is just malware to me.

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[-] grehund@lemmy.world 43 points 1 week ago

They don’t want people installing GrapheneOS on them.

[-] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 23 points 1 week ago

But isn't that stupid tho. Like they should want their military officers to be using the most secure OS.

But then again, its funny to see them make stupid decisions.

[-] Cethin@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 week ago

That's only true if they trust them. If the goal is to ensure they can keep track of dissidents then no.

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[-] SlippiHUD@lemmy.world 38 points 1 week ago
[-] NoForwardslashS@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 week ago

The Genius Bar are much more violent these days.

[-] bluemoon@piefed.social 33 points 1 week ago

says everything about iPhones 'security' & 'privacy'

repeats it

[-] Isthisreddit@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

This is it right here. I can't believe the nonsense I'm reading in this thread. Just goes to show how absolutely uninformed most people are when it comes to security and privacy

[-] bluemoon@piefed.social 1 points 1 week ago

also illiterare on sarcasm too lmao i see my comment got 60 upvotes and your unsarcastic comment got downvoted

[-] handsoffmydata@lemmy.zip 13 points 1 week ago

I thought Apple doesn’t let the bad guys … oh wait, that’s just in Movies and TV shows.

[-] CatAssTrophy@safest.space 11 points 1 week ago

It's also just not true, the villain/killer/etc has iPhones in many shows and movies already, including multiple AppleTV shows.

[-] Mrkawfee@feddit.uk 10 points 1 week ago

Guess we now know what the "i" stands for.

[-] pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 week ago

Androids are obviously Hamas

[-] fne8w2ah@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago
[-] ILiveByTheRiver@lemmings.world 6 points 1 week ago

I was already thinking of getting a Linux phone next, this is helping to seal the deal. Fuck Apple the genocide enablers.

[-] tyler@programming.dev 10 points 1 week ago

please do explain how Apple is doing anything here. If Israel wants to provide their military with iPhones they're going to no matter what Apple does.

[-] NamedUser@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 week ago

Mind sharing any linux phones candidates you are considering?

[-] Cybersteel@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Having to rely on webapps is a pain but Steve Jobs was right after all.

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[-] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 week ago

I said it before and I’ll say it again, among all tech companies, Apple is the closest to the nazi mindset.

[-] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Google has decided you cannot turn off Gemini in their newer versions of Android. You cannot install other roms that do either, Google is killing those too. But yea, Apple is the bad guy. Ignore the Google rug pull.

[-] UnspecificGravity@infosec.pub 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

What roms does Apple let you install on iPhones?

[-] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

Apple never opened that door. Google did, but they never intended to keep it open. it was there to catch up with apple. they never intended to do any good here. it was there to speed up development and win people over, then after they are already there, google can close the door and screw them all. That's what's happening now. It was a bait and switch.

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[-] rumba@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 week ago

I mean it's not just that. Probably not even mostly that. Security is really not great on Android far beyond the AI. I've been running Android for years and probably won't change until Linux with LUKS is a reasonable alternative, But from a hardware level on through to the software, there are so many holes in the OS and ways to access privileged information. Even the top end of the Samsung line is largely rootable at this point, not without concessions, mind you, but as far as an enemy getting a phone and gaining access, or the company itself getting your data even without AI, I'd probably be concerned enough for ANY military org not to allow them to be used.

Apple has a hell of a lot of issues, might even be overly friendly with Israel, but from a security standpoint, it's probably safer for secrets than android at the moment.

I really just want an encrypted portable linux device with a cellular modem. I don't even care if it can SMS or VOLTE, I just need it to run a secure chat client, support Bluetooth headphones and last all day on a charge.

[-] Ricaz@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 week ago

What exactly is insecure about running GrapheneOS?

Or even stock OS on a Pixel? Has any of the conspiracies about Google Play Services ever been proven?

[-] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

I mean, Google came out and said what they are going to do. its hardly a conspiracy theory.

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[-] skaffi@infosec.pub 2 points 1 week ago

I really just want an encrypted portable linux device with a cellular modem. I don’t even care if it can SMS or VOLTE, I just need it to run a secure chat client, support Bluetooth headphones and last all day on a charge.

Then you're in luck, because that's something you can already have by now! Just get yourself one of the more recent-ish phones that are well supported by PostmarketOS. The things Linux phones struggle the most with these days, are the more traditional phone-things, such as text messages or calling, which may not be ready for production, as they say (although, both texts and calls have actually worked well for me as of late). But if all you want is a pocket Linux computer/PDA, and intend to carry another phone for calls and texting, that's something you can have, for the grand price of an old, second-hand phone. I've been loving my (LUKS-encrypted) OnePlus 6T, and I do actually use it for calls and texts as well!

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[-] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

You aren't going to get such a device enabled on the american cellular networks. The duoploy wont allow it. You would have a better chance creating a new network that doesnt need cellular technology. something that behaves more like a cordless phone that uses whatever wifi, packet radio, reticulum node, etc as the base. You wouldn't be able to get a straight phone number without a VoIP subscription but thats also not a terribly big problem as phone numbers are a terrible idea in 2025 anyway. We should have revocable keys exchanged at will that are unique to each contact. Either side can block communications effectively that way at any time and you couldnt just call them from a different number or sell the key to a different scammer or something.

Really, a 5G capable phone running linux isnt a big enough goal. Mobile communications needs a profound shift away from the legacy model.

[-] ILiveByTheRiver@lemmings.world 5 points 1 week ago

LINUX PHONE

[-] Tja@programming.dev 4 points 1 week ago

Apple never even tried to allow it, so yeah, Apple IS the bad guy. Google is becomeing it, Apple is the mayor of bad guy town.

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[-] biggeoff@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

Both are the bad guys, not either.

[-] Khrux@ttrpg.network 2 points 1 week ago

As much as I don't disagree, I think the "Apple is closest to Nazism" comment touches on something different. Other massive American companies have awful practices but they don't care particularly how their way of making money looks. Apple wields a specific aesthetic power that generally dictates a hegemonic uniformity, that strays the line of being to their detriment at times. I don't think any other big tech company would care in the same way if not for their desire to copy Apple.

[-] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Doesn't seem like anyone has ignored Google. They doing it is old news.

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[-] anzo@programming.dev 3 points 1 week ago

This can mean anything, it's possible they wanted just 1 platform so that their expertise is focused. And android being a little more open may have been seen (biased) as a disadvantage (i.e. enemies are more prone to find a vulnerability). We can argue with it. It's like the counterpart of people thinking that open source is per default more safe because of being open source... It's a correlation that can't prove anything..

[-] eruchitanda@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Like, maybe a manufacturer's default ROM is worse than iPhone, but is it actually better than a GrapheneOS phone?

[-] scottrepreneur@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

You already know the answer is no

[-] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 week ago

frankly this is because israel knows exactly how much spyware they've gotten their partner, Google, to put into android. the iphone is also chock full of spyware, and they do want to spy on their military force to make sure it's as ideologically and racially pure as they need it to be to continue their genocide. further consider that budget iphones don't exist and you realize that their systemic impoverishing of the indigenous Palestinian people means that all of the targets of their genocide are much more likely to be android users than iphone users. given this, israel is in real time creating a new signifier of jewish-israeli identity. soon having an android phone as civilian will be evidence of HAMAS.

and again.

i want to remind everyone that google is a major partner to israel. this is not a case of iphones bad guys, android phones good guys. this is a case of both being components in a system of torture. i can't tell you yet to divest yourself of both to switch to linux phones like postmarketos because even i can't do that without buying a new device, but please watch that space. and until you can, if you're using a google pixel please consider installing grapheneos, and if you're not please consider using a de-googled lineage based rom. israel greatly values the intel they get from their partner google.

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this post was submitted on 30 Nov 2025
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