According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the CIA put spyware on thousands of Apple phones used by Russian nationals and foreign diplomats working in the country.
The FSB announced on Thursday that a combined operation with the Federal Guard Service (FSO) had “uncovered a surveillance operation carried out by American intelligence agencies using Apple’s mobile devices.”
An examination of Russia’s telecom infrastructure uncovered “anomalies” in iPhone operations caused by “a previously unknown malicious programme that uses software vulnerabilities provided by the manufacturer,” according to an agency statement.
According to the FSB, the spyware has infected several thousand Apple phones.
“Foreign phone numbers and subscribers who use SIM cards registered with diplomatic missions and embassies inside Russia, including countries from the NATO bloc and the post-Soviet space, as well as Israel, Syria, and China,” it stated.
