German Government warns ministers off iPhones, BlackBerrys

The German Government has said its ministers and senior officials should not use BlackBerry or iPhone devices due to the rise in cyber attacks targetting these high-end gadgets.

Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told the Handelsblatt Business Daily that malicious software could infect itself onto these devices, and then move onto Government networks.

Instead, ministers should use Simko gadgets under the Deutsche Telekom plan. This is the advice provided by federal IT security group BSI.

“The government must therefore keep it very much in mind that it has to protect its own network effectively,” de Maiziere told the publication.

“BlackBerry’s infrastructure is a company-owned closed system. But the access standard must be capable of being set by the government and not by a private company.”