Apple Notifies iPhone Users They're Targeted by Mercenary Spyware - CyberInsider

Apple launches a new wave of threat notifications warning iPhone users about sophisticated mercenary spyware attacks targeting high-risk individuals across multiple sectors.

The tech giant has been issuing these security alerts since 2021, with recent notifications sent in March, April, June, and September 2024. These warnings target users whose devices may have been compromised by state-sponsored surveillance tools like Pegasus, Predator, and Triangulation spyware. The attacks exploit zero-day vulnerabilities without requiring user interaction, primarily targeting journalists, activists, lawyers, and political figures.

• Recent spyware campaigns exploited critical vulnerabilities in Apple's Image I/O framework and WhatsApp's multi-device sync mechanism
• Apple introduced Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) on iPhone 17 to block memory corruption vulnerabilities used by mercenary spyware
• Users receiving threat notifications should enable Lockdown Mode and seek expert assistance before taking any technical action
• Security experts warn against immediate device resets as this could interfere with forensic investigations