Apple Warns Spyware Victims Right on the iPhone Lock Screen

Apple has updated the way it alerts users it believes are being targeted with spyware capable of breaking into an iPhone, iPad or Mac. The warning now arrives not only by email and when signing in to an account, but also as a push notification right on the lock screen.

The text of the alert speaks plainly about the nature of the threat: “Apple detected a targeted mercenary spyware attack against your iPhone. You can take action right now to help protect your data and your device.” The company stresses that it has redesigned the interface to make it easier for recipients to understand what to do next and whom to turn to for help.

Scale of the rollout

According to information Apple shared with TechCrunch, the latest batch of notifications went out on Thursday to users in 110 countries. In total, since the company launched this practice in 2021, it has notified residents of more than 150 countries — a figure that gives a sense of just how widely commercial spyware, typically deployed by governments, has spread around the world.

Receiving such a notification does not necessarily mean a device has already been hacked, but it should be taken seriously and acted on without delay. Among Apple's recommendations is turning on Lockdown Mode, a feature that makes such attacks far harder to pull off. The company says it has yet to encounter a single case in which a device was compromised while Lockdown Mode was active.

Why it matters

Spyware attacks themselves remain relatively rare, but the spread of surveillance technology in recent years has led to its abuse: it is used against critics of governments and members of civil society.

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab who was the first to draw attention to the new wave of alerts, called the updated push notifications “a big step forward.” In his words, such signals show that an entire community has come under fire: after receiving a warning, some people seek help, and that often sets off an investigation that uncovers many other cases.

As an example, he pointed to the scandal in Poland over the previous government's use of spyware against political rivals. Without Apple's notifications, Scott-Railton noted, “this whole massive scandal around surveillance abuses in the Polish elections would not have been uncovered.”

Source: TechCrunch