Russia accuses U.S. of hacking thousands of iPhones
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
Russia's top security agency is accusing the U.S. of hacking thousands of iPhones as part of an espionage campaign.
What's happening: Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed on Thursday that the U.S. intelligence community had created a backdoor into Apple's iPhones.
- It said it discovered malware on phones registered to Russian nationals, foreign diplomats based in Russia, and others believed to be involved in diplomatic missions in Israel, China, former Soviet states and NATO countries.
- The FSB also alleged that Apple was in "close cooperation" with the U.S. intelligence community, particularly the National Security Agency.
- An NSA spokesperson declined to comment. Apple said in a statement to Reuters that the company has "never worked with any government to insert a backdoor into any Apple product and never will."
Yes, but: The Russian government didn't include any technical specs about the malware it said it discovered on compromised devices.
- Those details — known as "indicators of compromise" — are commonplace in announcements from Western countries that attribute similar spying campaigns to nation-states.
Meanwhile, Moscow-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky said the same day that it had detected spyware on dozens of its employees' iPhones, including those belonging to top and middle management.
- Kaspersky found that for years, the spyware had been stealing users' private information from the devices — including microphone recordings, photos sent in messages and geolocation information — and sending it to a remote server, CEO Eugene Kaspersky wrote in a blog post.
- The Russian National Coordination Centre for Computer Incidents said publicly that the indicators of compromise that Kaspersky published are the same as the ones the FSB has uncovered.
- While the company didn't say who was behind the attack, it said in an email statement to Axios that as of now, it doesn't believe that it's the only one that was targeted: "The company’s just first to discover it," Kaspersky's statement said.
Why it matters: Russia's allegations are coming as the ongoing war in Ukraine continues to put a strain on the relationship between the Kremlin and the Western world.
- The allegations also come as some U.S. lawmakers push to send more weapons and equipment to Kyiv.
Between the lines: The Russian government has previously expressed surveillance concerns about Apple phones, and it can now use these allegations to further restrict iPhone use within the country.
- In March, the Kremlin told officials tied to the upcoming Russian presidential election to stop using the devices due to U.S. spying concerns.
- Apple also stopped selling its products in Russia after the war in Ukraine began in early 2022.
Sign up for Axios’ cybersecurity newsletter Codebook here
