Microsoft bans China-based employees from using Android devices for work, mandates switch to iPhones

Microsoft mandates China-based employees to switch from Android to iPhones for security, as part of its global Secure Future Initiative.

: Microsoft has instructed its China-based staff to transition from Android devices to iPhones by September 2024. This move is part of a broader security initiative aimed at unified identity management. The decision follows significant cybersecurity incidents and aligns with the use of Microsoft's Authenticator app.

Microsoft has imposed a ban on the use of Android devices among its employees in China, effective September 2024. This directive mandates the shift to iPhones for work-related activities as part of Microsoft's global Secure Future Initiative, which aims to standardize identity management and security protocols across the workforce.

Announced in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News, the initiative requires employees to use the Microsoft Authenticator password manager and Identity Pass app. The memo also stated that employees using Android handsets like Huawei or Xiaomi would be provided with an iPhone 15 at designated collection points across China.

This change comes in the wake of several cybersecurity breaches, including a nation-state attack last year linked to Russian group Midnight Blizzard. A government review in April criticized Microsoft’s security culture following another attack by a China-linked group on Exchange Online, describing it as

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