Cybersecurity

Russian Apps Could Be ‘Counterintelligence Threat,’ FBI Says

The FBI is treating any mobile app that comes out of Russia as a “potential counterintelligence threat,” the U.S.’s top law enforcement agency said in a letter to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s concern arises in part from “the legal mechanisms available to the Government of Russia that permit access to data” in the country, according to the letter, which Schumer’s office released Monday.

The FBI said its concerns extend to FaceApp, which grew popular earlier this year by allowing users to change ages and genders in photographic portraits. In July, Schumer had asked the FBI and Federal Trade Commission to look into the national security and privacy implications of the app, which was developed by Russian-based Wireless Lab.