Be careful if you see a notification on your smartphone informing you that you are being targeted by an attack! This is not a scam, but an alert to warn you of a very real danger.
Since April 10, many smartphone users around the world have seen a less than reassuring alert message appear on their screens indicating that they were the target of a targeted attack. If you receive this message, do not take it lightly! This is not an attempted scam or spam but a completely serious and legitimate notification intended to make you aware of a very real danger. And it doesn’t come from just anyone, but from a major player in the digital world.
Apple has just launched an alert procedure for certain iPhone users in 92 countries, including France. This is nothing more and nothing less than warning them that they could be the target of an attack by “mercenary spyware”. In other words, their iPhone can be compromised in order to get their hands on data linked to Apple ID. “Apple has detected that you are the target of an attack by mercenary spyware that is attempting to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID. This attack likely targets you specifically because of who you are or what you do ” indicates the message sent by email and iMessage to the users concerned.
If you receive such a message, Apple recommends putting iPhone into Isolation mode. Message attachments are blocked as are incoming Face Time calls for unknown callers, Wi-Fi network management is more strict, etc. Measures intended to limit the possibilities of revealing the user’s location and attempts to intrusion into the device. Apple also strongly recommends having the iPhone examined by a security expert.
These attacks do not target the majority of users, quite the contrary. They often target journalists, activists, politicians or diplomats. According to the apple firm, “they are always associated with state actors, including private companies developing mercenary spyware on behalf of these actors, for example Pegasus from NSO Group“.
This alert is not a first. Since 2021 Apple has acknowledged having sent this type of notifications several times a year to some of its users across 150 countries. The firm specifies, however, that it “cannot provide information about what triggers the threat notifications, as it could help the people behind this mercenary spyware adapt their behavior to avoid detection“.