Apple issues huge state-backed hacking warning to users worldwide

Apple, which pioneered cyber threat notifications in 2021 to alert users of potential state-sponsored spyware attacks, and follower Google, which eventually followed suit with its own similar program in 2023, have sent a new round of such warnings to users around the world this week. The companies announced their latest effort to insulate customers against surveillance threats.
Apple and the Alphabet-owned Google are two of several tech companies that regularly issue warnings to users when they determine they may have been targeted by state-backed hackers.
Reuters:
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Apple said the warnings were issued on Dec. 2 but gave few further details about the alleged hacking activity and did not address questions about the number of users targeted or say who was thought to be conducting the surveillance. Apple said that “to date we have notified users in over 150 countries in total.”
Google’s Dec. 3 announcement [stated] that it was warning all known users targeted using Intellexa spyware, which it said spanned “several hundred accounts across various countries, including Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Angola, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and Tajikistan.”
Google said in its announcement that Intellexa, a cyber intelligence company that is sanctioned by the U.S. government, was “evading restrictions and thriving.”

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MacDailyNews Note: Learn more about Apple’s threat notifications and protecting against mercenary spyware here.

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