After Australia, UK politicians also barred from wearing Apple Watch at cabinet meetings

The decision comes over the fear that the smartwatch’s microphone can be used by Russian hackers as a listening...

Ministers in the UK are now banned from wearing Apple Watch at cabinet meetings over fear that the device may be used by hackers to spy on high-level policy discussions, The Telegraph reported.

The decision came after the US government’s announcement last week that blamed Russian hackers for a cyber-attack on Democratic National Committee servers that resulted in the confidential emails being leaked over the internet.



The government is now concerned that the Apple Watch’s microphone can be used by hackers as a listening device. Speaking to the newspaper one source said, "The Russians are trying to hack everything."

The ban on the smartwatch is not something out of the ordinary though as mobile phones have been banned from cabinet meeting on similar grounds and it’s only logical as the device contains all the basic components of a smartphone.

Moreover, the Australian cabinet made the similar move with banning the smartwatch's use in cabinet meetings as well. "It has long been standard practice, on both sides of politics, that no electronic transmitting devices, including Apple Watches, be allowed in the cabinet room," a spokesman for Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos said.



Speaking to Fairfax Media special adviser on cyber security, Alastair MacGibbon warned that greater attention should be paid to security as more and more personal devices are able to have access to the internet.

"In a world in which it is necessary for the government to have conversations that truly have no electronics in the room, there are going to be more and more items that will have to be locked away in cabinets," he added.

This article originally appeared on The Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald