The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) issued a statement on June 2, stating that it has “discovered and recorded a large-scale operation by foreign intelligence agencies to implant and deploy malicious software on the mobile communication devices of senior Russian officials in order to obtain sensitive information.” The statement said the malware could extract stored data from devices, intercept calls, and conduct covert audio and video surveillance of the device’s surrounding environment, entering through zero-day vulnerabilities previously unknown to software developers. Those affected include Russian diplomats, politicians, senior military officers, and journalists. FSB officials also pointed out that individuals whose information was collected via mobile phone intrusions by foreign intelligence agencies were subsequently placed on Western sanctions lists — “labeled and pressured.”
A noteworthy new expression in this statement: the FSB explicitly warned that artificial intelligence is now used to process massive volumes of intercepted data within minutes — data that the FSB says “would have been impossible to process manually just a few years ago” — meaning the scale of surveillance and intelligence analysis efficiency has leapt to a new level. The statement echoes the narrative of “Operation Triangulation” from 2023, when Kaspersky Lab discovered anomalous network activity on Apple devices belonging to its employees, leading to a joint investigation by the FSB and the Federal Protective Service (FSO). Russia has since continued to ban senior officials from using iPhones. Russia has not yet named a specific country or agency, but its wording consistently points to the United States and its allies. Independent security researchers have previously documented that several high-end iOS exploit kits, originally developed by commercial spyware companies — including DarkSword and Coruña — have been flowing into the underground market since late 2025. Apple has issued patches for several related zero-day vulnerabilities. The Russian statement did not mention these independent research reports.