Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) revealed on Thursday that it had uncovered a massive espionage operation carried out by the United States, using sophisticated surveillance software to target thousands of people. Compromised iPhones. Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based cybersecurity firm, reported that the operation affected several devices belonging to its employees.
In an official statement, the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, revealed that the hack had affected several thousand Apple Inc devices. The compromised phones belonged to Russian citizens and foreign diplomats based in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union.
“The FSB has disclosed an intelligence operation conducted by US special services using Apple mobile devices,” the FSB statement announced. Additionally, the FSB claimed that the plot demonstrated “close cooperation” between Apple and the National Security Agency (NSA), the US agency responsible for cryptography and communications intelligence and security. However, the FSB did not provide any evidence to support the claim that Apple cooperated with or was even aware of the espionage campaign.
Apple quickly denied the allegation, saying, “We have never and never will work with any government to put a backdoor into any Apple product.” The tech giant strongly denied any involvement in the operation. The NSA chose not to comment on the matter.
Kaspersky Lab CEO Eugene Kaspersky shared on Twitter that dozens of his employees’ phones have been hacked. Kaspersky Lab described the attack as a “highly sophisticated, professionally targeted cyber attack” that was specifically aimed at workers in senior and middle management positions. Igor Kuznetsov, a Kaspersky researcher, confirmed the company’s independent discovery of unusual network traffic on its corporate Wi-Fi network at the beginning of the year. However, Kaspersky did not share its findings with Russia’s Computer Emergency Response Team until recently.
Kaspersky emphasized that it was challenging to attribute the hacking to any specific party, saying, “It’s very difficult to attribute anything.” According to Kaspersky’s blog post, the first signs of infection were discovered in 2019, and the attack continued until June 2023. While Kaspersky staff were affected, the company believed it was not the primary target.
The FSB alleged that US hackers had compromised the phones of diplomats from Israel, Syria, China and NATO member states as part of a spying campaign. Israeli officials declined to comment, while Chinese, Syrian and NATO representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Both the Kremlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry highlighted the importance of the issue. “The covert data collection was carried out through software vulnerabilities in US-made mobile phones,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. It further asserted that US intelligence services have been using IT corporations for decades to collect vast amounts of user data without their knowledge.
Russian officials revealed that the plot was uncovered through a joint effort between FSB officers and the Federal Guards Service (FSO), the powerful agency responsible for Kremlin security and formerly the KGB. was known as the Ninth Directorate of Russia, known for its sophisticated domestic surveillance infrastructure, has long questioned the security of US technology. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that all officials in the presidential administration were aware that gadgets like the iPhone were “absolutely transparent”.
Earlier this year, the Kremlin reportedly instructed officials involved in preparations for Russia’s 2024 presidential election to stop using Apple iPhones over concerns about their threat to Western intelligence agencies, as JEE News reported.
