Pentagon approves iPhone, Apple products for military use

GlobalPost

The Defense Department has approved Apple devices including iPhones and iPads for use on its networks so Pentagon employees can use the gadgets at work.

The Washington Post reported that earlier this month the Pentagon approved smartphone use of Samsung devices that run on Google's Android operating system.

Samsung vice president Tim Wagner said the company worked with the US National Security Agency to create an operating system with "multiple layers of software and hardware protection."

In the wake of a cyber terrorist threats from China and Russia, there were concerns that the products might not be secure enough for its workers to use.

Previously, the Pentagon relied almost solely on BlackBerry to supply more than 600,000 devices to run on its secure networks, according to Apple Insider.

More from GlobalPost: Pentagon accuses China of cyber-spying

The announcement comes amid a number of hacks on the websites and social media accounts of major media companies including The BBC, The Associated Press, Reuters, CBS News and The Guardian.

In Friday's latest attack, the Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility for attacking the website, blogs and Twitter accounts of The Financial Times.

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