Apple Alerts iPhone Owners in 98 Nations to Spyware Threats

Apple has recently alerted iPhone users in 98 countries about the risk of targeted spyware campaigns. This initiative marks the company’s second such warning this year, building on an earlier alert issued to users in 92 countries back in April.

Beginning in 2021, Apple has consistently issued these warnings, eventually reaching individuals in over 150 countries, as detailed on the company’s official support page. The warnings dispatched on Wednesday refrained from specifying the attackers or listing the affected countries.

“Apple detected that you are being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID -xxx-,” Apple communicated to the impacted users.

“This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do. While reaching absolute certainty in detecting such acts is never guaranteed, Apple’s confidence in this warning is high — please treat it with the utmost seriousness,” Apple further cautioned.

Notably, users in India found themselves among the recipients of Apple’s most recent round of threat notifications. In October, Apple had previously warned several journalists and politicians in the country, and following these warnings, Amnesty International reported the detection of Pegasus, the intrusive spyware developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, on the devices of some prominent Indian journalists.

Apple, in its alerts to users, emphasized the critical nature of the methods it uses to identify these threats, mentioning that revealing too much information could potentially help attackers avoid detection in the future.

There has been a significant shift in Apple’s terminology, with the company now referring to these incidents as “mercenary spyware attacks,” moving away from the term “state-sponsored” attacks used previously.

Apple mentioned that it bases its detection of such attacks on “internal threat-intelligence information and investigations.”