Apple Warns Users in 110 Countries of Spyware Attacks as Help Requests Jump 40%
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Aug 17
Apple Warns Users in 110 Countries of Spyware Attacks as Help Requests Jump 40%
2 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Aug 17
Summary
Friday’s alert wave reached Apple users in 110 countries, with researchers calling it the biggest batch yet of warnings about suspected “mercenary spyware” targeting iPhones and other Apple devices.
Access Now said requests for help since Friday ran about 30% to 40% above the usual post-notification surge, while iVerify also reported an influx of users seeking to verify Apple’s warnings.
Public reports over the weekend came from an unusually wide range of places, including a Ukrainian soldier who said others in the military had received the same notification.
Researchers at Citizen Lab and Access Now said the spike may reflect both broader spyware activity and Apple’s expanded alert system, which now appears on lock screens, in Settings, by email and on the web.
Apple says it has sent spyware warnings in more than 150 countries over recent years and advises recipients to take them seriously and enable Lockdown Mode, which it says has not been bypassed when active.
With Apple expanding its threat alerts, are we witnessing a genuine surge in cyber warfare or just the panic of hyper-visible security notifications?
Apple is warning users globally about mercenary spyware, but what silent zero-click threats are slipping past their undisclosed detection methods?
If Lockdown Mode is currently unhackable against government-grade spyware, what terrifying new surveillance tools are developers secretly building to break it?