US hacked Thousands of Apple Phones to Spy: Russia

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) is the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB. It released a statement revealing that several thousand Apple iPhones had been infected. It included domestic Russian subscribers as well as foreign diplomats based in Russia and the former Soviet Union. The FSB stated:

“The FSB has uncovered an intelligence action of the American special services using Apple mobile devices,”

According to FSB, the plot showed “close cooperation” between Apple and the National Security Agency. However, it provided no evidence that the silicon giant cooperated with, or had any knowledge of the spying campaign. In a statement, Apple denied the allegation. The silicon giant stated:

“We have never worked with any government to insert a backdoor into any Apple product and never will,”

Kaspersky researcher Igor Kuznetsov told that his company found abnormal traffic on its corporate Wi-Fi network at the beginning of the year. Kaspersky did not unveil its findings to Russia’s Computer Emergency Response Team until earlier on Thursday. He refused to comment on Moscow’s allegation that Americans were responsible for the hacking.

Why is US snooping?

No doubt, the United States is one of the world’s top cyber powers if we talk about intent and capability followed by China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Kremlin and Russia’s foreign ministry indicated the significance of the matter. Russia’s foreign ministry stated:

“The hidden data collection was carried out through software vulnerabilities in US-made mobile phones. The US intelligence services have been using IT corporations for decades to collect large-scale data of Internet users without their knowledge”

According to Russian officials, the plot had been exposed as part of a joint effort by FSB officers and the Federal Guards Service (FSO). All officials in the presidential administration knew very well that gadgets such as iPhones were “absolutely transparent.”

The point worth mentioning here is that the officials involved in preparations for Russia’s 2024 presidential elections warned everyone to stop using Apple iPhones because of concerns that the devices are vulnerable to Western intelligence agencies.

Also Read: Govt Warns Against Russia-backed APT Hackers Activities in Pakistan – PhoneWorld