Technology and Science13 August, 20262 min read
Apple Sends Spyware Attack Push Alerts to iPhone Users in 110 Countries
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Apple issued push notifications warning users in 110 countries about mercenary spyware attacks. Alerts target journalists, activists, politicians, and diplomats; may involve state-sponsored spyware.
Apple’s lock-screen alerts
Apple has sent a new batch of push notifications to customers it suspects have been targeted with spyware capable of hacking into their devices, and the company told TechCrunch the notifications were sent on Thursday to users targeted in 110 countries. In a support article, Apple says it will notify users directly on their iPhone lock screen with a push notification that urges the person to take action, and the threat notification reads: “Apple detected a mercenary spyware attack targeted at your iPhone.”
“Apple told TechCrunch that it sent out the notifications on Thursday to users targeted in 110 countries.”
Apple also sends notifications by email and to users when they log in to their account, and TechCrunch reported that Apple updated the user experience to make it easier for recipients to access important information on what to do next. Citizen Lab senior researcher John Scott-Railton first highlighted the latest batch of spyware notifications in a thread on X, and TechCrunch quoted him saying, “Notifications create a critical signal that a community is being targeted.”
Investigators see a surge
Mohammed Al-Maskati, director of the Access Now team of investigators who review and investigate reports to the helpline, told TechCrunch that since Friday they have received a record high number of people reaching out for help after Apple sent out a new wave of notifications on Friday alerting customers in 110 countries. Al-Maskati said the number is around 30% to 40% more than the nonprofit’s investigators usually receive after Apple sends out new notifications, and TechCrunch reported that cybersecurity firm iVerify confirmed to TechCrunch that it was seeing an influx in threat notifications from Apple.
A Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier told TechCrunch he initially thought it was a scam until he verified the notification with Apple, saying, “I was a bit surprised, to be honest; I wouldn’t have thought I was important enough for them to target me like this.” John Scott-Railton told TechCrunch that the reports show that spyware attacks may be more prevalent than people realize, adding, “For every public notification like this, you can imagine there’s a huge notification iceberg that the public will never learn about.”
Lockdown Mode and next steps
Apple’s guidance emphasizes that receiving a notification does not necessarily mean attackers have already gained access to the device, and the warning is still described as something users should not ignore. Apple says one of the key steps is enabling Lockdown Mode, and it states that it has not yet recorded any cases of devices being compromised while Lockdown Mode was enabled.
“Apple emphasizes that it should not be ignored.”
TechCrunch reported that the push notification also opens up advice on who to reach out to for help, and it says users will be advised to switch on Lockdown Mode, a security feature that makes it far more difficult for spyware attacks to succeed. In its support materials, Apple says the company has already warned potential victims of spyware attacks in more than 150 countries, and it frames the push notification as a “big improvement” in urging people to seek help to secure their devices since Apple debuted its spyware alerts in 2021.