Apple alerted several individuals this week that their devices may have been targeted by government-sponsored spyware, according to two people who received notifications.
These alerts continue an established practice Apple employs to inform suspected targets of state-sponsored cyberattacks. Over the past years, similar notifications have also been sent by other technology giants, like Google and WhatsApp.
So far, two individuals publicly confirmed that they received these recent notifications from Apple.
Ciro Pellegrino, an Italian journalist with the news organization Fanpage, detailed in a report that Apple informed him via email and text on Tuesday that his phone had been specifically targeted with spyware. Pellegrino reported that the messages indicated the cyberattack campaign affected multiple victims across 100 different countries. “Did this really happen? Yes. This is no joke,” Pellegrino wrote.
Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a Dutch right-wing activist, was the second individual to publicly confirm that she received Apple’s spyware notification. In a video posted to her social media account, she shared a screenshot of Apple’s alert: “Apple detected a targeted mercenary spyware attack against your iPhone. 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.”
Vlaardingerbroek strongly reacted to the notice, asserting that the attack was designed to intimidate and silence her.
The exact origin or scope of the latest spyware campaign currently detected by Apple remains unclear. Last year, Apple also alerted users in multiple countries on two previous occasions but didn’t publicly attribute those spyware notifications to specific known campaigns.
In Pellegrino’s case, this is not the first instance of Italian journalists being targeted this year. In February, another Fanpage journalist, Francesco Cancellato, was informed by WhatsApp that he had been targeted by spyware developed by Paragon Solutions, an Israeli surveillance software provider. Following that revelation, further investigations uncovered additional Italian spyware victims, including two individuals affiliated with Mediterranea Saving Humans, an NGO assisting immigrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
After these events became public, Paragon Solutions reportedly ended its contract with the Italian government customer associated with the spying operations.
Apple has not yet provided official comments regarding this latest series of notifications.
