Apple has issued a fresh wave of threat notifications to its users in India, alongside 91 other countries, cautioning them about potential attacks on their iPhones by "mercenary spyware," including the controversial Pegasus malware developed by the Israeli NSO Group.
The recent threat notifications were dispatched around 12:30 am IST on Thursday, April 11 to affected users in India. While the exact number of recipients remains undisclosed, the emails specifically mention the NSO Group's Pegasus spyware, highlighting ongoing global targeting using tools of this nature.
Apple has refrained from assigning responsibility for the recent wave of attacks to any specific entity. Last October, it issued a comparable notification to opposition leaders across various political parties including Congress's Shashi Tharoor, AAP's Raghav Chadha, and TMC's Mahua Moitra — cautioning them about a "potential state-sponsored spyware attack" targeting their iPhones.
The subject line of the threat notification reads: "ALERT: Apple detected a targeted mercenary spyware attack against your iPhone."
According to Apple, such attacks are highly specialized, costing millions of dollars and targeting a very select group of individuals globally.
The company advises users to exercise caution with all links received and refrain from opening any attachments from unexpected or unknown senders.
Despite issuing these alerts, Apple has stated its inability to provide further details regarding the cause of the threat notifications, as divulging such information could potentially aid attackers in evading detection in the future.
To assist users who may have been targeted, Apple has updated its support page with guidelines for those affected by potential mercenary spyware attacks. These notifications, initiated by Apple in 2021, have reached individuals in 150 countries. Last year, at least 20 Indians with iPhones were among the recipients.
Previous investigations into similar issues, including the Pegasus controversy, have yielded limited results. In 2021, the Supreme Court of India formed a committee of technical experts to investigate allegations of unauthorized surveillance using Pegasus software.
However, the committee found no conclusive evidence of the spyware's use in the phones examined, citing lack of cooperation from the Central Government.
The Pegasus saga began with media reports alleging the illegal tapping of phones belonging to activists, journalists, and politicians. Subsequently, multiple petitions were filed in the Supreme Court, seeking an inquiry into these allegations.
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