Apple warns German politicians of spyware attacks targeting their iPhones: Check details
Follow UsThe German government has warned politicians and other public figures that their iPhones may have been targeted by government-backed spyware.
German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said Berlin was “taking the incident and the warning very seriously.”
Apple reportedly sent its latest round of threat notifications to users in 99 countries.
The German government has warned politicians and other public figures that their iPhones may have been targeted by government-backed spyware. The warning comes days after Apple sent threat notifications to users in several countries, alerting them that their devices may have been targeted in spyware attacks. Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) said that members of the Bundestag, the country’s parliament, and other well-known individuals had received alerts from Apple.
SurveyAccording to the Financial Times, German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said Berlin was “taking the incident and the warning very seriously.” However, he did not confirm whether Chancellor Friedrich Merz or other senior government officials had received the alerts.
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Apple regularly sends security notifications to users when it believes they may have been targeted by spyware attacks. Such spyware can access private information, including messages, location details and other sensitive data stored on a phone.
Apple does not name the governments or groups it believes are behind these attacks. It also does not confirm whether a device has actually been hacked. Germany’s BSI has advised people who receive such alerts to take them seriously. The agency said anyone receiving an Apple threat notification “should therefore assume that their device may have been compromised.”
Apple reportedly sent its latest round of threat notifications to users in 99 countries. However, the company has not identified those responsible for the attacks or confirmed which governments may be involved.
The incident has once again raised concerns about the use of commercial spyware against politicians, journalists and other public figures. Governments often purchase these tools from private companies instead of developing them themselves. One of the best-known spyware makers is Israel-based NSO Group, which sells Pegasus spyware. Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) reportedly purchased access to Pegasus in 2019.
