Apple has warned users in India that their iPhones might have been attacked by “mercenary spyware."
Apple sent threat notification emails to affected users in India around 12:30 AM on April 11th.
According to Apple, “Mercenary spyware attacks” are “exceptionally rare” and “vastly more sophisticated” than regular cybercriminal activity or consumer malware.
Apple has warned users in India and 91 other countries that their iPhones might have been attacked by “mercenary spyware,” including the Israeli NSO Group’s controversial Pegasus malware.
Let’s know more about it.
Also read: Mother of all Breaches: 26 billion records leaked, check if your data is safe
Apple sent threat notification emails to affected users in India around 12:30 AM IST today (April 11th). It’s not clear how many people got these emails.
Also read: Aadhar data of over 81 crore Indians leaked on Dark Web: More details here
The email also mentions the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, noting that such tools are continually employed to target individuals worldwide.
“ALERT: Apple detected a targeted mercenary spyware attack against your iPhone,” reads the subject line of the threat notification, as reported by The Indian Express.
“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-. This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do. Although it’s never possible to achieve absolute certainty when detecting such attacks, Apple has high confidence in this warning — please take it seriously,” the notification email added.
According to Apple, “Mercenary spyware attacks” are “exceptionally rare” and “vastly more sophisticated” than regular cybercriminal activity or consumer malware. These attacks are expensive, costing millions of dollars, and are aimed at only a few individuals. However, the targeting continues globally over time.
The tech giant suggested that users should be careful with any links they receive, and avoid opening links or attachments from senders they don’t recognise.
The company mentioned it couldn’t give more details about why it sent the threat notification. Doing so might help spyware attackers change their tactics to avoid detection in the future.
Also, Apple has updated its support page to offer advice for users who might have been targeted by the spyware attack. “Apple threat notifications are designed to inform and assist users who may have been individually targeted by mercenary spyware attacks, likely because of who they are or what they do,” the tech giant said.
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Ayushi Jain
Tech news writer by day, BGMI player by night. Combining my passion for tech and gaming to bring you the latest in both worlds. View Full Profile
