Apple Issues Warnings of Mercenary Spyware Threats to iPhone Users in 98 Countries

Apple has recently alerted iPhone users across 98 countries about potential mercenary spyware attacks, marking its second warning campaign this year after a similar notification in April reached users in 92 nations.

Since 2021, Apple has been issuing these threat notifications to users in over 150 countries, as noted in a support document on its website. The latest warning, issued on Wednesday, did not reveal the identities of the attackers or specify which countries received the notifications.

Users in India have reported receiving these threat notifications. In October, similar warnings were sent to several journalists and politicians in the country. Amnesty International later found Pegasus spyware, developed by the Israeli firm NSO Group, on the iPhones of prominent Indian journalists.

Apple’s message to affected customers indicated that they were being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack attempting to remotely compromise their iPhones. The company emphasized that the likely reason for targeting was related to the individual’s identity or occupation. While absolute certainty in detecting such attacks is challenging, Apple expressed high confidence in the warning, urging recipients to take it seriously.

Apple emphasized the sensitive nature of its threat identification methods in its communication to impacted users, warning that disclosing additional details could help attackers evade future detection. Apple has also changed its terminology since last year, now referring to these incidents as “mercenary spyware attacks” instead of “state-sponsored” attacks.

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