The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia has announced the discovery of a significant espionage operation reportedly conducted by the United States. This led to the compromising several thousand iPhones by deploying advanced surveillance software.
The revelation was supported by Kaspersky Lab, a renowned cybersecurity firm based in Moscow, which acknowledged that numerous devices owned by its employees were also affected by this operation.
According to the FSB, the successor of the Soviet-era KGB, the detected breach had a substantial impact on Apple Inc. devices owned by Russian citizens and foreign diplomats residing in Russia and various former Soviet Union nations.
Highlighting the extent of the operation, the FSB proclaimed that “The FSB has revealed an intelligence operation carried out by the American special services using Apple mobile devices.” The agency further accused Apple of maintaining a “close cooperation” with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), which oversees cryptographic and communication intelligence and security, in executing this operation. However, the FSB presented no supporting evidence to substantiate its claim of Apple’s knowledge or involvement in this alleged spying campaign.
Apple quickly denied these accusations, asserting, “We have never worked with any government to insert a backdoor into any Apple product and never will.” The NSA, on the other hand, refrained from commenting on the situation.
Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Lab, corroborated the incident by revealing on Twitter that several of his employees’ phones were also affected. Kaspersky Lab defined the operation as an “extremely complex, professionally targeted cyberattack,” with employees holding high and mid-level management positions being the primary victims. In addition, Kaspersky had noticed unusual network traffic on its corporate Wi-Fi network earlier this year. Still, the company only recently shared its findings with Russia’s Computer Emergency Response Team.
The FSB also alleged that the suspected American hackers had breached diplomats’ phones from Israel, Syria, China, and NATO member nations. However, officials from these nations have yet to respond to these allegations.
Russian officials, including those from the Kremlin and the Russian foreign ministry, emphasized the gravity of this situation. They claimed that U.S. intelligence services had exploited IT corporations to collect user data covertly for many years.
The FSB revealed that the operation was uncovered in a collaborative effort with the Federal Guards Service (FSO), a powerful agency in Kremlin security, formerly part of the KGB’s Ninth Directorate. Russia, with its complex domestic surveillance infrastructure, has been skeptical about the security of U.S. technology. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, asserted that all officials in the presidential administration were aware of the vulnerability of gadgets such as iPhones.
Earlier this year, the Kremlin reportedly instructed Russia’s 2024 presidential election officials to avoid using Apple iPhones, citing concerns about their susceptibility to Western intelligence agencies. This instruction was reported by Kommersant newspaper.
 has reportedly exposed a substantial espionage operation carried out by the United States, compromising thousands of iPhones. Accusations include the alleged involvement of Apple and the NSA, which Apple vehemently denies){kind=link}