Apple has sent notifications to iPhone users in 98 countries about a hacking a spyware attack that they could be victims of. This is the second such notification campaign for iPhone owners this year, following a similar notification sent to users in 92 countries in April.
„Apple has discovered that you are the victim of a spyware attack that is attempting to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID. This attack is probably targeting you specifically because of who you are and what you do. While there can never be absolute certainty in detecting such attacks, Apple is confident in this warning – please take it seriously”, the notice stated.
Apple changed the wording of the notice from last year, choosing to describe these incidents as “spy attacks for hire“ instead of the previously used term “state-sponsored attacks“.
iPhone users in India are reportedly among those who have received threat notifications. Last October, similar warnings were sent to several journalists and politicians in the country. Human rights organization Amnesty International then reported the discovery of Pegasus, a spyware developed by Israeli firm NSO Group, on the iPhones of prominent Indian journalists.
Apple noted that it relies solely on “intelligence from its own investigations to detect such attacks”.