Vice President, Congratulations on your ascendancy to While we are an apolitical platform, we wish you nothing but success, the country depends on you. In a recent picture of you onboard Air Force Two, we couldn't help but notice the Apple Watch on your left wrist. As a former CIA case officer who spent most of his adult life recruiting spies and stealing secrets, I feel implored to highlight some of the potential vulnerabilities of your smartwatch before suggesting a simple solution. As Vice President, you are now a priority intelligence collection target for the world's most capable bad actors, and the Apple Watch is an effective vector for potential exploitation.
The photograph in question, reportedly from 28 Jan To be clear, we are not anti-technology or troglodytes. We are big fans of Apple and believe the iPhone and iPad are two of the most consequential products of the last century.
For most people, the Apple Watch is a great tool and offers significant lifestyle benefits: fitness tracking, optimizing communication, and sleep and health monitoring. But you are not like most people. You are one of the most powerful world leaders and thus a priority target for extremely capable hostile intelligence services, including Russia, China, Iran, and North Koreaβall of which are considered Advanced Persistent Threats APTs.
From an intelligence perspective, the Apple Watch offers unique data collection and access for exploitation and even manipulation. Of particular concern, the watch contains a microphone that when worn is capable of detecting and recording the user's conversations. As Vice President, nearly everything you say and do is of interest to foreign intelligence services FIS. This includes not only strategic-level discussions with the President and National Security officials but also conversations with your wife, political donors, and college friends.
While the Apple Watch has security features in place, you must operate under the assumption that it can be compromised and exploited. Through a process called hot micing, the microphone can be remotely activated or set to passively collect audio without the wearer's knowledge. Additionally, the Apple Watch collects GPS location, movement, and biometric data including heart rate and sleep patterns, representing potential vulnerabilities for exploitation by bad actors.
