Apple Warns of New Mercenary Spyware Attack

If you received a notification on your Apple device that you're being targeted in a spyware attack, take it seriously.

The warning, which appears to have gone out since Wednesday, lets users know that a "mercenary spyware attack" has been targeted at "a very small number of specific individuals and their devices," according to Apple's information page on the notification. Specifically, Apple suggests those targeted might be "journalists, activists, politicians or diplomats" and warns that "threat notifications are high-confidence alerts that a user has been individually targeted by a mercenary spyware attack and should be taken very seriously." However, Apple did indicate that most users will never be targeted in this type of attack.

If you do happen to be one of the people targeted, the notification you receive will either be displayed at the top of the page when you log into appleid.apple.com, or you will receive an email and iMessage notification associated with your Apple ID.

If you receive such a message, you can protect your device by enabling Lockdown Mode or by contacting Digital Security Helpline. Note, however, that any notice that includes a link or asks you to open a file or install an app is likely a fake email. Apple says it will never ask you to click links, open files, or download apps. The only notification that you can rely on is the one you'll see when you log into your Apple ID.