--- title: The FBI warns of an espionage campaign targeting mobile devices description: The FBI reveals an espionage campaign using quishing to target mobile phones and bypass traditional corporate protections. image: https://blog.pradeo.com/hubfs/Template%20article%20(17)-1.png --- [![pradeo_logo_color](https://blog.pradeo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/pradeo_logo_color.png?width=220&height=33&name=pradeo_logo_color.png "pradeo_logo_color")](https://pradeo.com) - Solutions - [Mobile Threat Defense](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-device-security/mobile-threat-defense/) - [Secure Private Store](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-device-security/secure-private-store/) - [Mobile Application Compliance Audit](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-application-security/application-compliance-audit/) - [Runtime Application Self Protection](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-application-security/rasp/) - [Shielding](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-application-security/application-shielding/) - [Application Security Testing](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-application-security/application-security-testing/) - Use cases - [Cybersecurity in MDM/ UEM](https://pradeo.com/en/use-cases/cybersecurity-in-mdm-uem/) - [Securing mobile devices](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-device-security/mobile-threat-defense/) - [Securing Mobile Applications](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-application-security/application-security-testing/) - [Malware / leakware protection](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-device-security/mobile-threat-defense/) - [Phishing protection](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-device-security/mobile-threat-defense/) - [Ensuring compliance for applications](https://pradeo.com/en/compliance/) - [Ensuring compliance for mobile fleet](https://pradeo.com/en/compliance/) - [Securing BYOD](https://pradeo.com/en/solutions/mobile-device-security/secure-private-store/) - [Become partner](https://pradeo.com/become-partner/) - Resources - [Solution briefs](https://pradeo.com/en/resources/?solution-briefs) - [Customer Cases](https://pradeo.com/en/resources/?customer-cases) - [Integration briefs](https://pradeo.com/en/resources/?integration-briefs) - [White Papers](https://pradeo.com/en/resources/?white-papers) - [Analyst reports & guides](https://pradeo.com/en/resources/?analyst-reports-guides) - [On demand webcast](https://pradeo.com/en/resources/?webcasts-on-demand) - [About us](https://pradeo.com/en/about/) - [Blog](https://blog.pradeo.com/) - [Contact](https://pradeo.com/contact/) - en - [**FR**](https://blog.pradeo.com/fr) - [**DE**](https://blog.pradeo.com/de) ### Topics - Select a Topic ### Stay up to date SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG ### Stay up to date [Cybersecurity](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/cybersecurity) [News](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/news) # The FBI warns of an espionage campaign targeting mobile devices ![Picture of Clara Campos](https://blog.pradeo.com/hubfs/1711636314862%20(1).jpg) By [Clara Campos](https://blog.pradeo.com/author/clara-campos) on January, 22 2026 [mailto:?subject=Take%20a%20look%20at%20this%20article](mailto:?subject=Take%20a%20look%20at%20this%20article) ![](https://blog.pradeo.com/hubfs/Template%20article%20(17)-1.png) ###### On January 8, 2026, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued an alert concerning a spearphishing campaign conducted by the North Korean group Kimsuky, aimed at espionage and intelligence gathering. ###### This campaign targets American academic institutions and think tanks, as well as international government entities. ###### Spearphishing refers to highly targeted phishing attacks designed for specific organizations or profiles. In this case, the campaign relies on a rapidly growing technique to carry out the attack: **quishing**, or QR code–based phishing.   ## An attack designed to force a shift to mobile The core of this campaign relies on the use of quishing, a QR code phishing technique with a simple objective: shifting the attack from the workstation to the mobile device. QR codes are embedded in emails and presented as providing access to legitimate content. Once scanned from the user’s smartphone, the QR code redirects to an attacker-controlled page specifically designed for a mobile environment. This shift to the mobile device is far from incidental. As the FBI points out, it allows attackers to move outside the usual protection perimeter of enterprise environments by bypassing security controls applied to workstations and email flows. The FBI classifies quishing as a high-confidence intrusion vector, capable of bypassing MFA protections and enabling large-scale identity compromise.   ## Why MDMs are not sufficient against this type of attack This alert highlights a clear reality: smartphones have become a strategic entry point, even in highly secure professional environments. In its alert, the FBI recommends the deployment of Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to better regulate the use of mobile devices in the workplace. This recommendation is legitimate: MDM allows organizations to configure, manage, and control devices, and to define security policies. However, MDMs are not designed to dynamically analyze URLs, detect phishing attempts, or observe runtime behavior triggered by a malicious link opened on a mobile device. This alert demonstrates that, while an MDM is essential for managing and supervising a mobile fleet, it must be supplemented by a mobile security solution capable of detecting and blocking mobile threats in real time, as they occur.   ## Pradeo Mobile Threat Defense: the essential security layer To address this type of threat, a Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) solution is essential to provide the missing security layer. Pradeo Mobile Threat Defense analyzes links accessed from mobile devices, including those originating from QR codes, and detects malicious redirections. Access is then automatically blocked before any sensitive user interaction occurs. This level of control directly addresses the challenges highlighted in the FBI alert: the need to secure attack paths that shift to mobile devices and evade traditional security solutions. Protecting professional environments now relies on mobile security capable of automatically detecting, blocking, and remediating threats directly on mobile devices. ###### About The Author [More from this author](https://blog.pradeo.com/author/clara-campos) ![](https://blog.pradeo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1711636314862%20(1).jpg?height=100&name=1711636314862%20(1).jpg) ###### Clara Campos #### Recommended articles [![Quishing: when a QR code becomes a trap](https://blog.pradeo.com/hubfs/image%20(6).png)](https://blog.pradeo.com/quishing-when-qr-code-becomes-trap) ###### [Quishing: when a QR code becomes a trap](https://blog.pradeo.com/quishing-when-qr-code-becomes-trap) - December 18, 2025 [![Herodotus: a banking trojan that exposes the limits of an antivirus](https://blog.pradeo.com/hubfs/Template%20article%20(5)-2.png)](https://blog.pradeo.com/herodotus-a-banking-trojan-that-exposes-the-limits-of-an-antivirus) ###### [Herodotus: a banking trojan that exposes the limits of an antivirus](https://blog.pradeo.com/herodotus-a-banking-trojan-that-exposes-the-limits-of-an-antivirus) - November 6, 2025 #### Recommended articles ### Popular articles ### Stay up to date ### Recent articles ### Articles récents [Android: The 4th zero-day vulnerability patched in six months](https://blog.pradeo.com/android-the-4th-zero-day-vulnerability-patched-in-six-months-1) - 22 January, 2026 [Vibe Coding: when AI-generated code multiplies vulnerabilities](https://blog.pradeo.com/vibe-coding-when-ai-generated-code-multiplies-vulnerabilities) - 22 January, 2026 [2026 World Cup: Cyberattacks Target Fans' Mobile Devices](https://blog.pradeo.com/2026-world-cup-cyberattacks-target-fans-mobile-devices) - 22 January, 2026 [Signal: a phishing campaign targets users' backups](https://blog.pradeo.com/signal-a-phishing-campaign-targets-users-backups) - 22 January, 2026 [Morpheus Spyware: a fake Android application used for smartphone surveillance](https://blog.pradeo.com/morpheus-spyware-a-fake-android-application-used-for-smartphone-surveillance) - 22 January, 2026 ### Topics - [Mobile Security (56)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/mobile-security) - [Mobile Application Security (46)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/mobile-application-security) - [Expertise (31)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/expertise) - [Security Alert (30)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/security-alert) - [Cybersecurity (29)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/cybersecurity) - [News (25)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/news) - [Partners (24)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/partners) - [Corporate (12)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/corporate) - [Events (4)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/events) - [Actualité (2)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/actualité) - [predictions (2)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/predictions) - [cyberattack (1)](https://blog.pradeo.com/topic/cyberattack) see all [![New Call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/2378615/ad3111b0-9454-41ff-91f4-9eee95b1f08f.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/2378615/ad3111b0-9454-41ff-91f4-9eee95b1f08f) ### Get in touch with mobile security experts [Contact us](https://www.pradeo.com/en-US/contact-us) [![](https://blog.pradeo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/pradeo_logo_white_square.png?width=90&height=74&name=pradeo_logo_white_square.png)](https://pradeo.com) European leader in mobile security, Pradeo protects business mobile devices and applications. 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All Right Reserved. - - - ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Clara Campos" }, "dateModified" : "January 22, 2026, 9:32:34 AM", "datePublished" : "2026-01-22 09:32:34", "description" : "The FBI reveals an espionage campaign using quishing to target mobile phones and bypass traditional corporate protections.", "headline" : "The FBI warns of an espionage campaign targeting mobile devices", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://2378615.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/2378615/Template%20article%20%2817%29-1.png" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://2378615.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/2378615/Logo%20Pradeo%20D%C3%A9grad%C3%A9%20Long%20Couleurs.svg" }, "name" : "Pradeo" } } ```