Apple warns of severe ‘mercenary spyware attack’ on users in 92 countries

Bengaluru — Apple has warned users in 92 countries that they were possible victims of a “mercenary spyware attack”, according to a threat notification email that was sent to targeted users.

The company discovered that attackers tried to “remotely compromise the iPhone”, Apple said in the notification email.

Mercenary spyware attacks are rare and vastly more sophisticated than regular cybercriminal activity or malware, according to the notification email.

The iPhone-maker has sent threat notifications such as these multiple times a year since 2021, the notification email said, adding that it has notified users in more than 150 countries in total to date.

In October 20223, some Indian legislators shared screenshots on social media of a notification quoting the iPhone manufacturer as saying: “Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID”.

The company had then said it did not attribute the threat notifications to “any specific state-sponsored attacker”. 

Reuters