The United States has authorized iPhones for use in classified environments more than ten years ago. Now, NATO has officially approved iPhones and iPads to handle NATO-level classified information under the premise of meeting control requirements, becoming the first and currently only consumer-grade mobile devices to meet this standard.
According to a press release issued by Apple, under strict device management, iPhone and iPad are now allowed to handle confidential information up to "NATO Restricted (NATO Restricted)" without the need to install additional dedicated security software or make special settings. This certification does not mean that the device can arbitrarily store or transmit all levels of intelligence, but it clarifies the compliance of the device within a specific confidentiality level under the established security policy and control system. Apple said no other consumer-grade mobile device has yet been certified to the same standards.
Ivan Krstic, Apple's vice president of security engineering and architecture, said this achievement reflects a fundamental change in Apple's approach to security delivery. He pointed out that before the advent of the iPhone, secure terminals were almost only for governments and large enterprises, which required huge investments in creating customized security solutions; but now, Apple's high-security devices for all users can meet the security certification requirements of NATO member states without additional modifications, which is unique in the entire industry.
This isn't the first time an iPhone has received NATO-related "whole-of-government" approval. Previously, the German Federal Office for Information Security has approved iPhones and iPads to handle relevant levels of NATO confidential information, paving the way for this NATO-level certification. It is not uncommon for Apple hardware to be used in classified environments around the world, but in the past it usually required case-by-case approval or separate authorization based on specific projects. This NATO certification has greatly simplified the relevant approval process and reduced administrative obstacles when using Apple devices to participate in NATO projects.
Apple devices have been used in classified environments by the U.S. military for decades. From the 1990s to the present, Apple hardware has played a role in processing classified data in some military operations within the framework of the U.S. and NATO. In 2013, as iOS 6 obtained Level 1 certification of the U.S. Federal Information Processing Standard FIPS 140-2, the U.S. military officially introduced iPhones and other devices on a larger scale, with purposes broadly similar to this NATO approval. At the time, many installations still required turning off Wi-Fi to control radio emissions, reduce the risk of detection, and reduce the wireless attack surface.
In the early days, in order to meet safety and electromagnetic leakage control requirements, some government and military users relied on third-party manufacturers to physically remove the wireless communication chips in the equipment to reduce radio frequency emissions and reduce the risk of attack. This practice continued after the AirPort wireless function was integrated into the device motherboard during the Steve Jobs era and became widely popularized, until system-level security capabilities and management frameworks were gradually improved.
At the political level, mobile terminal security has also been a hot topic. In 2013, then-President Obama was banned from using an iPhone by the security team and was forced to continue using a BlackBerry. This requirement did not change until 2015. In addition, the Chinese government once implemented "sometimes tight and sometimes loose" restrictions on the use of iPhones in the government system. This "see-saw" ban has gradually faded over time.
Overall, NATO's official inclusion of iPhones and iPads in the list of devices that can handle specific levels of classified information is more like an institutional confirmation of existing practices. For Apple, this not only means that its security architecture has been officially endorsed by transnational military and government systems, but also further consolidates its unique competitive position in the government and defense markets with high security requirements.