In April 2024, tech giant Apple issued a warning to iPhone users regarding the potential “mercenary spyware attacks” in several countries, including India. Now, Apple has alerted its users again regarding the spyware attack in 98 countries. As per reports, the company has sent these alerts to iPhone users in over 150 countries since 2021. Here’s more about the new notification from the tech giant.
Spyware attacks warning by Apple for iPhone users
According to reports this week, some users on X have reported receiving alerts from Apple about spyware, which might compromise their iPhones remotely. The new alerts did not reveal the attackers’ identity or the countries where users received notifications. However, several iPhone users in India have received Apple’s latest threat alert.
The tech giant wrote, “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,” to the affected iPhone users.
Apple notes that mercenary spyware attacks, like those using Pegasus from the NSO Group, are highly uncommon and more advanced than typical cybercrime or consumer malware. These attacks are expensive and target a small number of individuals.
The new notification hints that the attackers might target users because of their identity or activities. Furthermore, the company also told users to take this warning seriously.
Apple, in April, advised users to enable Lockdown Mode on their respective iPhones, disabling several features and reducing the possibility of spyware attacks. It has also warned its users not to visit any links, install apps, open files, verification codes or any password over the phone.
Meanwhile, in October last year, the tech giant warned some journalists and opposition leaders regarding being targeted by state-sponsored attackers. These notifications were sent to prominent opposition leaders, including Shashi Tharoor, Rahul Gandhi, Raghav Chaddha, and Mahua Moitra.
