Apple sends urgent warning to iPhone users in more than 100 countries

Apple warned that the attack was a serious threat, and suggested that the spyware behind it was Pegasus - a tool developed by NSO Group, a controversial Israeli cybersecurity company.

Pegasus was previously exposed for its ability to deeply penetrate iPhone devices without any action from the user, allowing governments to monitor and extract sensitive data from journalists, opposition politicians, human rights lawyers, and other influential individuals.

The confrontation between Apple and NSO Group is not new. Since 2021, Apple has implemented a system of “threat notifications” to send to users suspected of being the target of state-sponsored attacks.

These campaigns are targeted at a small number of users, but are very sophisticated and difficult to detect. Warnings are typically sent via email, iMessage, and displayed on the personal Apple ID page.

As of recently, at least two individuals have publicly confirmed receiving a warning from Apple, one of whom is Italian journalist Ciro Pellegrino of Fanpage.it.

He said he received a text message and an email from Apple, informing him that his iPhone may have been infected with spyware. In his post, Pellegrino revealed that the warning was sent to users in more than 100 countries, a scale not seen in previous warnings.

The second confirmed case is Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a Dutch political activist who made her warning public on social network X (formerly Twitter).

In the video, she shows a screenshot of a message from Apple that reads: “Apple detected a mercenary spyware attack targeting your iPhone.

This attack could be carried out because of who you are or what you do. While Apple cannot guarantee that it will detect such attacks, we strongly believe in the accuracy of this warning and ask that you take it seriously.”

“Yesterday I received a threat alert from Apple, confirming that my iPhone is being targeted by a spyware for hire, most likely Pegasus,” Vlaardingerbroek wrote in his post. “Someone is trying to threaten me. But I have a message for them: it won’t work.”

In its announcement, Apple advised those who received the alert to quickly enable Lockdown Mode, an enhanced security feature designed specifically for individuals at high risk of sophisticated cyberattacks.

This feature can be enabled in seconds atSetting>Privacy & Security>Lock mode, and is described by Apple as “the strongest defense for users being personally targeted by the most dangerous digital threats.”

Additionally, Apple warns that espionage attackers may continue to try to reach their targets through platforms outside the Apple ecosystem. Therefore, the company advises users to:

- Change the passwords for all sensitive accounts that have been logged in on the device.

- Update iPhone to the latest iOS 18.4.1 version viaSetting>Software Update.

- Update all other Apple devices they own.

- Always use the latest versions of messaging apps and cloud services.