'Take It Seriously': Apple's Alert To Users In India, 91 Other Countries Over 'Mercenary Spyware' Attack

It warned users that they have been "individually targeted" using mercenary spyware, according to a Hindustan Times report.

Apple, however, has not yet made any statement on the said alerts or on who received this threat.

'Please Take It Seriously': What Did Apple Alert Say

Apple, in its notification, told the users that it has "detected a mercenary spyware" targeting them to "remotely compromise" the iPhone associated with their Apple ID, adding that "Apple has high confidence in this warning — please take it seriously."

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“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 [Apple ID specified]. 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 HT report quoted the notification.

"Mercenary spyware attacks, such as those using Pegasus from the NSO Group, are exceptionally rare and vastly more sophisticated than regular cybercriminal activity or consumer malware. These attacks cost millions of dollars and are individually deployed against a very small number of people, but the targeting is ongoing and global. Since 2021, we have sent Apple threat notifications like this one, multiple times a year, as we detect mercenary spyware attacks. Today’s notification is being sent to targeted users in 92 countries, and to date we have notified users in over 150 countries in total. The extreme cost, sophistication, and worldwide nature makes mercenary spyware attacks some of the most advanced digital threats in existence today. As a result, Apple does not attribute the attacks or the notice you’re receiving to any specific attackers or geographical regions,” the notification read.

“Public reporting and research have shown that mercenary spyware attacks target users across modern computing platforms, including iOS and Safari as well as Google Android, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Windows, as well as a variety of messaging and cloud apps including iMessage and WhatsApp. These attacks are very well funded and are constantly evolving,” the notification said.

Apple's Previous Alerts

Apple’s previous threat notifications warned users about attempts to compromise their devices using "state-sponsored attacks". Last year, several politicians, journalists, and other public figures had received the "state-sponsert attacks" alerts on their Apple devices, such as iPhones. While the Opposition in India attacked the Centre over the alerts, Apple later said that such alerts were sent to users in 150 countries.

Even though the Centre initially downplayed the Apple's alerts, its cyber-security wing Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) later started an investigation. 

Apple is said to have updated its FAQ site about the threat notification system on April 10.

According to the Hindustan Times report, Apple, which launched the threat notification system in November 2021 to warn users who may have been targeted by state-sponsored attackers, started the alert feature after it had sued the NSO Group, the Israeli maker of Pegasus, in the same month in the wake of the second bout of Pegasus-related exposures in July 2021

These threat notifications are sent by Apple to potentially affected users quarterly, the report mentioned.