Cabinet ministers have been warned not to wear the devices in meetings in case they are hacked by Russian spies Apple

Cabinet ministers in the UK are banned from wearing Apple Watches and similar devices during meetings amid concerns they could be hacked.

Ministers have reportedly been told they cannot wear the smartwatches in Cabinet meetings after concerns they could be hacked by Russian spies and used as listening devices. However, this is a Cabinet-wide policy and isn't specific to Apple devices; it relates to any smart product that is vulnerable to attack.


A source told The Telegraph: “The Russians are trying to hack everything” and made specific mention to the Watch, but mobiles phones have also been barred from the Cabinet rooms because of similar concerns.

The concerns about security threats from Russia are not unfounded. Last week, the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Homeland Security in the US officially blamed Russia for stealing and publishing archived emails from the Democratic National Committee earlier this year. WikiLeaks published the data dump on its website in July.

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Julian Assange has also revealed that the website will be publishing more leaks over the coming weeks relating to the US presidential election.

Despite concerns about the security of Apple Watch, Apple regularly investigates security issues and improves them by offering regular OS updates. On its security content watchOS 3 page, the company lists security investigations and updates concerning its Watch software.

Though an issue was reported about the remote hacking of audio on the Watch, Apple has stated that this has been corrected through improved memory handling. WIRED has requested a comment from Apple about the issue.


There are increasing concerns about security issues on smart products such as phone and watches due to the amount of data they contain about our lives. After the release of iOS 10 it was reported that an algorithm makes it 2,500 times easier for hackers to access passwords and sensitive information when iPhone and iPad backups take place through iTunes.

For users concerned about smartphone data hacks, here are WIRED’s top iOS 10 apps for keeping data safe and secure on your mobile.

Update: October 11 – This story was updated to widen the list of devices that are banned after learning it's not specific to Apple Watches and applies across the board.