Apple has issued a fresh series of threat notifications to select users in India and 91 other countries, cautioning them about potential attacks on their iPhones by “mercenary spyware,” including the contentious Pegasus malware developed by the Israeli NSO Group.
The tech giant has refrained from attributing these recent threats to any specific entity. Last October, similar notifications were dispatched to opposition leaders spanning various political parties in India, from Congress’s Shashi Tharoor to AAP’s Raghav Chadha and TMC’s Mahua Moitra, alerting them to a “potential state-sponsored spyware attack” on their iPhones.
Following pressure from the government, Apple clarified that it does not directly link the threat notifications to any particular state-sponsored attacker.
The threat notification emails were dispatched around 12:30 AM IST on Thursday to affected users in India, although the exact number of recipients remains undisclosed. The correspondence also mentions the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, highlighting its utilization in ongoing global targeting efforts.
The subject line of the threat notification reads, “ALERT: Apple detected a targeted mercenary spyware attack against your iPhone.” The message urges recipients to take the warning seriously, citing the sophistication and rarity of such attacks, which are significantly more advanced than typical cybercriminal activity.
Apple advises users to exercise caution with all received links and refrain from opening any attachments from unfamiliar sources. However, the company refrains from providing detailed information about the triggers behind the threat notification to prevent potential attackers from adapting their tactics to evade detection in the future.
Furthermore, Apple has updated its support page to offer guidance to users who may have been targeted by mercenary spyware attacks. These threat notifications have been in circulation since 2021, reaching individuals in 150 countries. Last year alone, approximately 20 Indians with iPhones received such notifications.
Previous investigations into similar issues have yielded limited results. In 2021, the Supreme Court formed a committee of technical experts to investigate allegations of unauthorized surveillance involving the Pegasus software. However, the committee found no conclusive evidence of spyware use in the phones examined, citing a lack of cooperation from the Central Government.
The Pegasus controversy emerged following media reports alleging the illegal use of the software to monitor the phones of activists, journalists, and politicians. Consequently, several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court seeking an inquiry into these allegations. However, the investigation faced hurdles, and no definitive conclusions were reached.