On Thursday, Apple sent notifications to iPhone users whom the company suspects have had their devices attacked by so-called mercenary spyware (“Söldner-Spyware”). In total, individuals in 110 countries are affected, the company told US media.
Such data destroyers are special programs that are usually used by government and espionage organizations, for example, to eavesdrop on activists, civil rights activists, or journalists. This is normally a targeted approach. Sometimes attackers use previously unknown security vulnerabilities to hack devices.
It is not the first time that Apple has sent such warnings. The company has internal capabilities to detect such attacks – but not in all cases. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the warning means that the attack was successful. “Apple detected a mercenary spyware attack targeted at your iPhone. There are actions you can take now to protect your data and device”, the company writes in its warning. Apple offers affected individuals direct assistance, but apparently only if they belong to government agencies, NGOs, or the media, according to a person affected on .
Apple has since published a support document regarding the warnings. It states that affected individuals should experts “urgently”. It refers to the Digital Security Helpline from Access Now . The disadvantage: “External organizations do not have information what prompted Apple to send a threat notification, but they can support affected users with individual security recommendations.”
In its warning letter, which is also sent by email to affected individuals, Apple recommends that they should urgently activate the Lock-Down Mode on their device. This disables various attack possibilities. According to Apple, the Lockdown Mode on the iPhone has “never” been bypassed by spyware. However, the affected person whose case was discussed on had apparently activated the protection – but apparently not on all devices. Apple also recommends the latter.
The research lab Citizen Lab, which specializes in spyware attacks, praised Apple's notifications. They are “a big improvement” compared to before, as they urge users to secure their devices.
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung .
This article was originally published in German . It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
The full story
This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.
