"The FSB has uncovered an intelligence action of the American special services using Apple mobile devices," the FSB said in a statement. The FSB said the plot showed "close cooperation" between Apple and the National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. agency responsible for cryptographic and communications intelligence and security. The FSB provided no evidence that Apple cooperated with, or had any awareness of, the spying campaign. "The hidden data collection was carried out through software vulnerabilities in U.S.-made mobile phones," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said all officials in the presidential administration knew that gadgets such as iPhones were "absolutely transparent."

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Persons: Russia Apple, NSA Kaspersky, Apple, Eugene Kaspersky, Igor Kuznetsov, Kaspersky, Dmitry Peskov, Guy Faulconbridge, Raphael Satter, James Pearson, Zeba Siddiqui, Mark Potter, Andrew Heavens, Matthew Lewis, Diane Craft Organizations: NSA, Apple, Federal Security Service, FSB, Apple Inc, Soviet, National Security Agency, Twitter, Reuters, NATO, Harvard University's, Federal Guards Service, Kremlin, Kommersant, San, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, Soviet Union, U.S, Israel, Syria, China, States, United Kingdom, Australia, Washington, London, San Francisco