iPhone and iPad approved to handle classified NATO information

[GeekyBear]

The interesting point here is that an off the shelf consumer product has been approved by NATO for any level of classification for the first time, not which level of classification.

> The devices are now officially approved to handle classified NATO information up to the "restricted" level. This is not about specialized, rugged phones built for the military or locked-down, government-only hardware. It applies to regular iPhones and iPads running standard iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. According to Apple, no other consumer devices have this distinction.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-iphone-ipad-nato-classif...

[bigfatkitten]

NATO RESTRICTED is not a particularly high classification. Its handling requirements are a very, very small step above unclassified.

What holds Apple back in the classified space is not security shortcomings in the platform per se, but the fact that there’s no way to initialise and manage a fresh iPad without public internet connectivity. That’s an absolute dealbreaker.

[wslh]

I understand that this is mainly about the Apple business where having an endorsement/certification is a barrier of entry for others, even if it's artificial.

[dist-epoch]

What actually is military-grade technology:

Both Ukraine and Russia use Discord to stream live drone footage.

Ukraine uses various Android tablets to run it's super-classified Delta battlefield management system.

[bigyabai]

"NATO Restricted" is the lowest-tier of NATO classification. It does not require security clearance to access, and mostly exists to prevent the leaking of information.

[mark_l_watson]

+1 I came to make the same point. Basically unclassified. Pretty weak press release!

[irishcoffee]

Commercial products don't generally go from unclass to TS/SCI in one jump. We should anticipate this isn't the end, given how these types of contracts are generally structured.

[figassis]

So most NATO people will have access to this level, so it's where most devices will be sold.

[runlaszlorun]

This deserves to be the top comment.

[NoiseBert69]

Restricted?

Even the monthly consumption of toilet paper on a base has this classification.

[buildbot]

You could possibly infer an estimate of base staff based on that info; not like a great number, but a number.

[WillAdams]

Big change from when Steve Jobs killed the Newton and one unspoken reason was the USMC having just had a _very_ successful trial and being in the process of getting Apple approved as a DOD vendor.... (yes, I'm still salty that the only Apple products I've bought since my MessagePad were OpenStep 4.2, and two iPods for my daughter --- the MacBook I use doesn't count since work bought that --- at least Samsung and Amazon use Wacom EMR in their products, though neither is fully a replacement for my Newton....)

[tokyobreakfast]

You're forgetting Casey Fucking Ryback!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDlpPs19NU0

[Teever]

I've wondered how the world would be different right now if Jobs was still alive.

Asshole as he was, there's no way he would have stood for the kind of shit that is going on in America, and he would have vindictively used all of his resources as the largest shareholder of Disney and CEO of Apple to fight it.

Jobs was obviously not the greatest guy, and harmed a lot of people around him but it's unlikely that he would be seen within a mile of the current President and certainly wouldn't have been photographed in the WH handing him a tacky gold and glass paper weight like Cook.

[frumplestlatz]

Do you have a source for that USMC trial and that “unspoken reason”?

I don’t remember any such thing at the time, and I can’t find any source for the claim.