Apple sent threat notices to iPhone users in 92 countries on Wednesday, warning them that they could be targeted by mercenary spyware attacks.
The company sent alerts to individuals in 92 countries at 12 noon PT on Wednesday. It did not reveal the identities of the attackers or the countries where users received notifications.
“Apple has discovered that you have been targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is attempting to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID -xxx-,” it wrote in the warning to affected customers.
“It is likely that this attack will target you specifically because of who you are or what you are doing. Although it is never possible to achieve absolute certainty when such attacks are detected, Apple has High confidence in this warning – please take it seriously.
The iPhone maker sends out this type of notification several times a year, and has notified users of such threats in more than 150 countries since 2021, according to an updated Apple support page.
It also issued a similar warning to a number of journalists and politicians in India in October last year. Later, Amnesty International, a non-profit organisation, reported that it had found Pegasus, an invasive spyware from Israeli spyware company NSO Group, on the iPhones of prominent journalists in India. (Users in India are among those who received the latest threat notifications from Apple, according to people familiar with the matter.)
The spyware alerts arrive at a time when many countries are preparing for elections. In recent months, several technology companies have warned of increasing state-sponsored efforts to influence certain election outcomes. But Apple did not comment on their timing.
“We are unable to provide further information about why we are sending you this notice, as this may help mercenary spyware attackers adapt their behavior to avoid detection in the future,” the company told affected customers.
It had previously described the attackers as “state sponsors” but replaced all such references with “mercenary spyware attacks.”
“Mercenary spyware attacks, such as those using NSO Group's Pegasus software, are exceptionally rare and vastly more sophisticated than the activity of ordinary cybercriminals or consumer malware,” the advisory adds to clients.
Apple said it relies only on “internal threat intelligence and investigations to detect such attacks.” “Although our investigations can never achieve absolute certainty, Apple's threat notifications are high-confidence alerts that a user has been individually targeted by a mercenary spyware attack and should be taken seriously,” she added.
