Apple has issued a warning to users in India and 91 other countries, cautioning them about the possibility of being targeted in a “mercenary spyware attack”. The company discovered attempts to remotely compromise iPhones, according to a notification email seen by Reuters.
These types of attacks, known as mercenary spyware attacks, are rare and highly sophisticated compared to typical cyber-criminal activity or malware, the email explained.
Apple has been sending out similar threat notifications since 2021, with multiple notifications issued each year. The email stated that users in more than 150 countries have received such notifications to date.
Also Read:New iOS 18 Design Inspired by Apple Vision Pro Headset UI
In October 2023, some Indian lawmakers shared screenshots of a notification on social media, quoting Apple 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”. However, Apple clarified at the time that it did not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker.
Earlier this month, India Today reported that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued a warning after discovering a “remote code execution vulnerability” in Apple devices. This vulnerability could allow hackers to remotely access iPhones and iPads running iOS and iPadOS versions prior to 17.4.1 and 16.7.7, respectively.
