Russia claims foreign spy agencies hacked officials' phones

Russia's domestic security agency on Tuesday accused foreign intelligence services of conducting an espionage operation against senior Russian officials, alleging that spies used the infrastructure and capabilities of major international technology companies to secretly collect sensitive government information.

In a statement, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had uncovered what it described as a "large-scale operation" involving malicious software installed on the mobile devices of senior Russian officials. The agency alleged the malware was used to extract data, intercept communications and conduct covert audio and video surveillance.

The agency claimed foreign intelligence services carried out the operation "using the technical capabilities of major international IT corporations and mobile communication technologies."

Russian authorities have opened a criminal investigation and said efforts are underway to identify the perpetrators, map the infrastructure used in the operation and determine the scope of the compromised information.

According to Russia's state-owned news agency TASS, an FSB official described the campaign as one of the largest foreign intelligence operations ever uncovered by the agency. The official claimed the objective was to collect information on officials' contacts, plans and assessments directly rather than through intermediaries.

The FSB alleged the operation enabled access to correspondence, phone calls, geolocation information, contact lists and audio and video data collected from devices and their surroundings. It also claimed that some officials allegedly targeted in the campaign later appeared on U.S. and European Union sanctions lists, suggesting the intelligence may have been used to support pressure campaigns against them.

The agency, however, did not disclose the name of the spyware allegedly involved, explain how the malware infected devices or provide technical evidence supporting its claims.

In addition to publishing a statement, the FSB distributed a video to Russian media outlets. According to TASS, the footage included offices linked to international technology companies whose infrastructure was allegedly used in the operation, including content delivery and cybersecurity firms Cloudflare and Fastly.

Neither company was directly accused of participating in the alleged espionage operation. Both firms operate content delivery networks that help websites distribute content globally and provide cybersecurity services.

Cloudflare and Fastly did not offer public comments to Recorded Future News by the time of publication.

The allegations echo a previous FSB claim from 2023, when the agency accused U.S. intelligence services of using spyware to compromise thousands of Apple iPhones belonging to Russian officials and diplomats.

That campaign, dubbed Operation Triangulation by Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky, targeted victims through malicious iMessages and is believed to have operated for several years. At the time, the FSB accused Apple of facilitating the operation, an allegation the company rejected.

"Apple has never worked with any government to insert a backdoor into any Apple product and never will," an Apple spokesperson told Recorded Future News in 2023.

The FSB did not link Tuesday's allegations to Operation Triangulation, and Kaspersky did not respond to a request for comment on the newly alleged espionage campaign.