Apple this week sent out notices to people who may have been targeted with government-sponsored spyware attacks, reports .An Italian journalist and a Dutch activist said that they received notifications from Apple via iMessage and email.Apple said in its message that the notification was being sent to targeted users in 100 countries, and the company advised that those receiving the alert enable Lockdown Mode and ensure that their iPhones are updated to iOS 18.4.1.
Apple also warned against opening links or attachments from unexpected or unknown senders.Apple has been sending out notices like this to those targeted in state-sponsored attacks since 2021.Many state-sponsored surveillance campaigns use the Pegasus spyware from NSO Group, and Apple launched a lawsuit against NSO Group in 2021.
According to a support document on Apple's threat notification policy, Apple sends out alerts multiple times per year when attacks are detected, and to date, users in over 150 countries have been notified about potential attacks.
