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Apple has denied Russia’s claim that it had allowed US intelligence services to use its products in order to spy on foreign diplomats.
“We have never worked with any government to insert a backdoor into any Apple product and never will,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement to the media on Thursday.
The denial came after Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused the US intelligence agencies of installing malware on Apple smartphones used by Russian diplomats, as well as diplomats from other countries, including Israel, China, and Syria.
According to the FSB, the Americans gathered information through “a previously unknown malicious program that uses software vulnerabilities provided by the manufacturer.” The FSB also accused Apple of providing the US government with “a wide range of opportunities” to spy on its clients.
The allegations were made as Washington and Moscow are locked in the most serious diplomatic standoff in decades due to the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden revealed in 2013 that the US has been running a global operation to surveil foreign politicians, including some in allied countries.
Peskov knows nothing about malware-infected iPhones in use among Kremlin staff
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday he knows nothing about malware-infected iPhones in use among the Kremlin staff.
Earlier, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) uncovered a US intelligence operation being conducted via a virus program on Apple mobile devices.
"I don’t know about this," Peskov told journalists when asked about possible cases of malware-infected iPhones among the Kremlin staff.
He also said that decisions on the security of various gadgets should be made by special services and the Kremlin cannot restrict the use of iPhones among officials in any way.
"We do not even have the authority to make such recommendations. Here, probably, it is necessary to be guided above all by the qualified and informed opinion of special services," the Kremlin official said, replying to a question as to whether the Kremlin thought it necessary to ban its officials from using iPhones given these risks.
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