Apple warns users in India, 91 other nations of 'mercenary spyware' attack

The threat notification by Apple said that it had detected that users were 'being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone'

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Apple is likely to soon announce to its users in India and 91 other countries that they were possible victims of a "mercenary spyware" attack attempt in which someone tried to gain unlawful access to their devices, according to a report in The Indian Express (IE).

The threat notification mail sent by Apple stated: "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."

According to the IE report, Apple detected that the user was "being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone" associated with a particular Apple ID.

The threat notification further read: "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."

On Wednesday, Apple updated its support page to include tips for users who had been possible targets of the mercenary spyware attack. The updated support page stated: "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."

Since last year, this is the second threat notification sent to Apple users across the globe. In October 2023, Apple had sent a similar notification to users in several countries, including India, warning them of a "state-sponsored" attack on their devices. In the threat notifications, Apple had said that users facing such attacks are "individually targeted because of who they are or what they do".

Apple had said, "Unlike traditional cybercriminals, state-sponsored attackers apply exceptional resources to target a very small number of specific individuals and their devices, which makes these attacks much harder to detect and prevent."

According to the company, these threat notifications have been sent to Apple users in over 150 countries since 2021. Apple also denies providing more details about the possible attackers as doing so may help the attackers adapt their behaviour to evade detection in the future.

Prior to 2021, Apple and Google issued alert notifications to users worldwide, including those in India, advising them of potential remote compromises to their devices stemming from an attack involving Pegasus, a spyware developed by the Israeli firm NSO.