The big accusation
- Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday that the US intelligence community has “designed a backdoor” into Apple’s iPhones.
- It said it had discovered malware on phones registered to Russian citizens, foreign diplomats residing in Russia, and others believed to be involved in diplomatic missions in Israel, China, the former Soviet Union, and NATO countries.
- The FSB also alleged that Apple was “in close cooperation” with the US intelligence community, especially the National Security Agency.
Apple replied
- A spokesman for the National Security Agency declined to comment. Apple said in a statement to Reuters that the company “has never worked with any government to introduce a backdoor into any Apple product and never will.”
- The Russian government did not include any technical specifications about the malware it said it had detected on compromised devices.
Company has been hacked
- Moscow-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky said the same day that it had discovered spyware on dozens of its employees’ iPhones, including those of senior and middle management.
- Kaspersky found that for years, the spyware had been stealing users’ private information from devices, including microphone recordings, images sent in messages and geolocation information, and sending it to a remote server, CEO Eugene Kaspersky wrote in a blog post.
Russia’s allegations come as the ongoing war in Ukraine continues to strain the relationship between the Kremlin and the Western world.
The allegations also come as some US lawmakers seek to send more weapons and equipment to Kiev.
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