Apple Alerts iPhone Users In India And 91 Other Countries Of 'Mercenary Spyware' Attack (Photo by Paolo Giubilato on Unsplash)Tech giant Apple has reportedly warned users in several countries that their iPhone could have been potentially targeted by “mercenary spyware.” Multiple reports reveal that Apple sent the alerts to iPhone users in 92 countries, including India.
It is to be noted that the iPhone maker has not attributed the recent attacks to any stakeholder. Apple has also not disclosed the list of nations where the users were alerted. At the same time, Apple updated its support page on April 10 and explained how threat notifications work. According to The Indian Express, impacted users in India received the threat notification from Apple at around 12.30 am IST on Thursday (April 11). Warnings from Apple arrive at a time when countries, including India, are preparing for general elections.
“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-,” reads the warning message, as quoted by TechCrunch. Apple also reportedly mentioned in the warning that the attack is likely targeting the user specifically because of who they are or what they do.
The Apple warning also mentioned that spyware like Pegasus from the NSO Group is being used to target people on an ongoing basis globally. In October 2023, Apple sent a similar notification to various Opposition leaders in India. Leaders who received Apple’s warning message about “state-sponsored attackers” on that occasion include Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, AAP’s Raghav Chadha, and TMC’s Mahua Moitra. Apart from politicians, journalists Siddharth Vardarajan and Sriram Karri also received warning notifications from Apple.
The Cupertino-based tech company also noted that their threat notifications are high-confidence alerts, and users are required to take such warnings seriously. Apple also advised the affected users to enable Lockdown Mode on their device.
In the updated support page, Apple stated that the aim of threat notifications is to inform and assist users who may have been individually targeted by mercenary spyware attacks. According to Apple, such attacks are vastly more complex as attackers use exceptional resources to target a very small number of specific individuals and their devices. “Though deployed against a very small number of individuals – often journalists, activists, politicians and diplomats – mercenary spyware attacks are ongoing and global,” added Apple.
The support page also asked users to update their devices to the latest software and to protect iPhones with a passcode. Users are also advised to make use of two-factor authentication and a strong password for Apple ID.