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Apple notifies iPhone users in 100 countries of spyware attacks

MacDailyNews

May 2

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The Lockdown Mode capability further hardens device defenses and strictly limits certain functionalities, sharply reducing the attack surface that could potentially be exploited by highly targeted mercenary spyware.

Apple notified multiple iPhone users this week, informing them they may have been targeted by government spyware, as reported by two of the alleged victims.

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai for TechCrunch:
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One is Ciro Pellegrino, an Italian journalist who works for online news outlet Fanpage. Pellegrino wrote in an article that he received an email and a text message from Apple on Tuesday notifying him that he was targeted with spyware. The message, according to Pellegrino, also said he wasn’t the only person targeted.
“Today’s notification is being sent to affected users in 100 countries,” the message read, according to Pellegrino’s article.
The second person to receive an Apple notification is Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a Dutch right-wing activist, who posted on X on Wednesday.
“Apple detected a targeted mercenary spyware attack against your iPhone,” the Apple alert said, according to a screenshot shown in a video that Vlaardingerbroek posted on X. “This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do. Although it’s never possible to achieve absolute certainty when detecting such attacks, Apple has high confidence in this warning — please take it seriously.”

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MacDailyNews Note: Lockdown Mode is an optional, extreme protection that’s designed for the very few individuals who, because of who they are or what they do, might be personally targeted by some of the most sophisticated digital threats. Most people are never targeted by attacks of this nature.

When Lockdown Mode is enabled, your device won’t function like it typically does. To reduce the attack surface that potentially could be exploited by highly targeted mercenary spyware, certain apps, websites, and features are strictly limited for security and some experiences might not be available at all.

Lockdown Mode is available in iOS 16 or later, iPadOS 16 or later, watchOS 10 or later, and macOS Ventura or later. Additional protections are available starting in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and macOS Sonoma.

More info about Lockdown Mode here.

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