How Apple’s threat notification system works
1 year, 5 months ago

How Apple’s threat notification system works

Hindustan Times  

Opposition leaders were among Indians who received emails and messages on Monday from Apple warning them that state- A consortium of media outlets and investigative journalists earlier in July 2021 reported that the phones of Indian ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen, and journalists were among the 50,000 selected for infection with the Pegasus malware. Apple sued the Israeli maker of Pegasus, the NSO Group, months later over the exposures while also announcing its new threat notification system to warn users that state- The system warned the Opposition leaders, journalists, and researchers in India on Monday of their devices potentially being targeted. Many spyware companies rely on users clicking on malicious links sent via SMSes, emails, WhatsApp messages, etc to compromise devices. Apple released its Lockdown Mode in September 2022 with iOS 16, iPadOS 16, MacOS Ventura, and watchOS 10 in response to state actors compromising the devices of critics or whom they perceived as threats.

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History of this topic

Congress’ KC Venugopal gets Apple threat notification, says got it in Oct’23 too
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Congress’ KC Venugopal gets Apple threat notification, says got it in Oct’23 too

Hindustan Times  

Congress leader KC Venugopal on Saturday said that he had received a threat notification from Apple informing him that he was being targeted using a mercenary spyware that was attempting to compromise the iPhone associated with his Apple ID. Significantly, the threat notification sent to him notes that he was also notified on October 30, 2023, and this was another …

Apple warns Indian iPhone users of Pegasus-like possible ‘spyware attack’
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Apple warns Indian iPhone users of Pegasus-like possible ‘spyware attack’

Hindustan Times  

Apple issued warnings to some iPhone users in India that their device could become a likely target of Pegasus-like “mercenary spyware attack”. Apple warned some iPhone users in India of possible spyware attack. Apple also informed targeted iPhone users that attacks possibly “cost millions of dollars and are individually deployed against a very small number of people, but the targeting …

Apple issues fresh spyware attack alert to iPhone users in India: Here's what's happening
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Apple issues fresh spyware attack alert to iPhone users in India: Here's what's happening

India TV News  

The tech giant Apple has issued a new warning to iPhone users in at least 98 countries, including India, regarding a potential new mercenary spyware attack similar to 'Pegasus'. According to the Apple warning, they have detected that "you are being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is attempting to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID." …

Apple issues two fresh Pegasus-like spyware alerts in India
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Apple issues two fresh Pegasus-like spyware alerts in India

The Hindu  

At least two people in India on July 10 reported receiving a Pegasus-like alert from Apple, Inc. on their iPhones. Iltija Mufti, political adviser and daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, reported receiving the alert, and so did Pushparaj Deshpande, founder of the Samruddha Bharat Foundation, which says on its website it works to “forge progressive …

Ex-J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter says she received spyware threat notification
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Ex-J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter says she received spyware threat notification

Hindustan Times  

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, Iltija Mufti, on Wednesday said that she received a threat notification from Apple informing her that she was being targeted with spyware attempting to compromise the iPhone associated with her Apple ID. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, Iltija Mufti. Is there something illegal that I have done …

Apple warns of potential spyware attacks to users in India, 91 other nations
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Apple warns of potential spyware attacks to users in India, 91 other nations

New Indian Express  

NEW DELHI: The iPhone maker, Apple, has sent threat notifications to some users in India and 91 other countries, warning them of potential attacks by mercenary spyware. “Although it’s never possible to achieve absolute certainty when detecting such attacks, Apple has high confidence in this warning — please take it seriously… Mercenary spyware attacks, such as those using Pegasus from …

Apple's Spyware Alert for Some Users in India, 91 Other Nations Follows CERT-In's Query to Tech Giant
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Apple's Spyware Alert for Some Users in India, 91 Other Nations Follows CERT-In's Query to Tech Giant

News 18  

The recent threat notification alert from Apple to some users was a result of ministry of electronics and information technology wing CERT-In writing to the company on April 10 to inform its users if any new vulnerabilities had been found in its products, government sources told News18 on Thursday. They added that the government body also asked Apple on April …

Apple Sends New Spyware Alert To iPhone Users In India And More Countries: Here’s What It Says
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Apple Sends New Spyware Alert To iPhone Users In India And More Countries: Here’s What It Says

News 18  

Apple iPhone users in India and over 91 countries have got a new spyware attack notification from the company on April 11 at 12:30 AM IST which could be as dangerous as the NSO Group’s Pegasus. The company says, “today’s notification is being sent to targeted users in 92 countries, and to date we have notified users in over 150 …

‘Mercenary spyware’: Apple updates threat notification system
11 months, 3 weeks ago

‘Mercenary spyware’: Apple updates threat notification system

Hindustan Times  

Apple has sent out the first batch of threat notifications for this year to 92 countries, including India, on Thursday, warning users that they may have been individually targeted using mercenary spyware. This is a shift from Apple’s previous threat notifications that warned users about attempts to compromise their devices using state- Apple launched the threat notification system in November …

'Half facts, fully embellished': MoS Chandrasekhar rebuts Washington Post report on Apple hack warnings
1 year, 3 months ago

'Half facts, fully embellished': MoS Chandrasekhar rebuts Washington Post report on Apple hack warnings

Firstpost  

“Rebutting @washingtonpost’s terrible storytelling is tiresome, but someone has to do it. This story is half facts, fully embellished,” said Rajiv Chandrasekhar on X Union Minister of State for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has refuted the claims made in The Washington Post regarding the Indian government’s purported targeting of Apple. ➡️This story is half facts, fully embellished 😅 ➡️Left out …

Pegasus Spyware found on Indian journalists’ phones after Apple alert: Amnesty International
1 year, 3 months ago

Pegasus Spyware found on Indian journalists’ phones after Apple alert: Amnesty International

The Hindu  

The Wire news website’s founder editor, Siddharth Varadarajan, and another journalist in India were targeted with Pegasus spyware this year, the nonprofit Amnesty International’s Security Lab was able to determine after testing their devices, it announced on Thursday. The journalists had received an alert from Apple that they were being targeted by “state- Separately, TheWashington Post reported that after the …

India’s opposition leaders’ iPhones targeted by state-sponsored hackers | Explained
1 year, 4 months ago

India’s opposition leaders’ iPhones targeted by state-sponsored hackers | Explained

The Hindu  

On October 31, more than half a dozen Indian opposition leaders and prominent journalists received a notification from Apple, warning them their iPhones were targeted by state- The iPhone maker confirmed it had sent the threat notifications, but clarified later that it hadn’t named the Indian government in its nor if the hacking attempts were a success. A spokesman later …

CERT-In initiates probe into the Apple threat notification issue
1 year, 4 months ago

CERT-In initiates probe into the Apple threat notification issue

Op India  

The national nodal agency for handling computer security instances, the Computer Emergency Response Team, has begun looking into the Apple threat notification issue brought up by opposition members of parliaments and some other persons. The notification received by them as per media reports mentions about ‘state- The minister asserted that the details offered by Apple “seems vague and non-specific in …

‘Apple will cooperate in probe’: IT Secretary as India launches probe in threat notification row
1 year, 4 months ago

‘Apple will cooperate in probe’: IT Secretary as India launches probe in threat notification row

Firstpost  

Computer Emergency Response Team — India’s nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents— has started the probe. Krishnan was speaking on the sidelines of an event related to the Meity-NSF research collaboration Thursday India has launched a probe into the contentious Apple threat notification issue, IT Secretary S Krishnan said Thursday, adding that Apple would cooperate in the investigation. …

'Snoopgate': Apple says threat notifications may be false alarms, not attributable to specific state-sponsored attackers
1 year, 5 months ago

'Snoopgate': Apple says threat notifications may be false alarms, not attributable to specific state-sponsored attackers

Firstpost  

“State- State- Furthermore, Apple clarified, “State- As reliable and useful as Apple’s threat notifications are, Apple maintains, that it is “possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected.” And there is a very good reason for that. Apple believes that if they are to provide information about what causes them to …

Row as Apple sends hacking alert to several Oppn leaders
1 year, 5 months ago

Row as Apple sends hacking alert to several Oppn leaders

Hindustan Times  

At least nine Opposition leaders said on Tuesday that they were sent emails by Apple warning them of hacking attempts by unidentified “state- Among the politicians who purportedly got emails were the Congress’s Shashi Tharoor, Pawan Khera and Supriya Shrinate, the Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, the Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, the CPI’s Sitaram Yechury, the Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra, the …

‘Will get to the bottom’: Ashwini Vaishnaw on Apple’s threat notifications
1 year, 5 months ago

‘Will get to the bottom’: Ashwini Vaishnaw on Apple’s threat notifications

Hindustan Times  

NEW DELHI: Union minister for electronics and information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said the government will “get to the bottom” of notifications sent by Apple to multiple people including at least seven opposition leaders that state- “The Government of Bharat takes its role of protecting the privacy and security of all citizens very seriously and will investigate to get …

Apple ‘hacking’ alert row: Govt orders probe into Opposition MPs’ allegations
1 year, 5 months ago

Apple ‘hacking’ alert row: Govt orders probe into Opposition MPs’ allegations

Live Mint  

The Centre has ordered a probe into the warning received by Opposition lawmakers from tech giant Apple of a potential bid to hack their iPhones, said Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw, while addressing the press on October 31. Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Trinamool Congress' Mahua Moitra, Aam Aadmi Party's Raghav Chadha, Congress' …

Centre has launched investigation into Apple’s alerts to Opposition MPs: Vaishnaw
1 year, 5 months ago

Centre has launched investigation into Apple’s alerts to Opposition MPs: Vaishnaw

The Hindu  

Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters in Bhopal that the Government has launched an investigation into the alerts sent by Apple to several Opposition members of parliament that “State- However, the company said that this claim is not limited to this last week, and is for the last few years in which Apple has been issuing …

‘May be false alarm’: Apple on Opposition’s ‘state-sponsored’ hacking claim
1 year, 5 months ago

‘May be false alarm’: Apple on Opposition’s ‘state-sponsored’ hacking claim

Live Mint  

A notification warning Opposition leaders of a “state- “It’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected,” the company said in a statement, hours after some of the politicians using its flagship iPhones were warned of a potential bid to compromise their devices. The US-headquartered gadget maker clarified that it “does …

Apple iPhone hacking alert : Apple warns Opposition MPs about ‘state-sponsored’ attacks on their iPhones
1 year, 5 months ago

Apple iPhone hacking alert : Apple warns Opposition MPs about ‘state-sponsored’ attacks on their iPhones

The Hindu  

Over a dozen Opposition leaders and journalists received email alerts from U.S.-based tech giant Apple on Monday night, informing them that their digital devices were being targeted by “state- Prominent Opposition leaders who posted screenshots of these alerts on social media included Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister …

Opposition raises concerns over possible phone hacking, Apple responds
1 year, 5 months ago

Opposition raises concerns over possible phone hacking, Apple responds

India TV News  

Tech giant Apple has responded to allegations made by several Opposition MPs in India who claimed to have received warnings of "state- The warning messages sent by Apple stated, "Apple believes you are being targeted by state- "Apple does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state- However, Apple's official statement clarified that the company does not attribute these …

Pegasus: What you need to know about Israeli spyware
3 years, 1 month ago

Pegasus: What you need to know about Israeli spyware

Al Jazeera  

The Israeli company has been linked to governments exploiting its technology to spy on journalists, activists and politicians. Pegasus, spyware made by the Israeli technology company NSO Group, is making headlines again after it was reported that the Israeli police used it for spying on dozens of its own citizens – including senior government officials and protesters rallying up against …

Not Just Pegasus By NSO Group, Another Israeli Spy Firm Also 'Hacked' iPhones
3 years, 1 month ago

Not Just Pegasus By NSO Group, Another Israeli Spy Firm Also 'Hacked' iPhones

News 18  

WASHINGTON: A flaw in Apple's software exploited by Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group to break into iPhones in 2021 was simultaneously abused by a competing company, according to five people familiar with the matter. Experts analyzing intrusions engineered by NSO Group and QuaDream since last year believe the two companies used very similar software exploits, known as ForcedEntry, to hijack …

Phones of US State Department Staffers Hacked Using Israeli Firm NSO Group
3 years, 3 months ago

Phones of US State Department Staffers Hacked Using Israeli Firm NSO Group

News 18  

Apple Inc iPhones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees were hacked by an unknown assailant using sophisticated spyware developed by the Israel-based NSO Group, according to four people familiar with the matter. NSO Group and another spyware firm were "added to the Entity List based on a determination that they developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that …

Apple sues Israeli spyware firm NSO after Pegasus spyware was used to attack ‘customers worldwide’
3 years, 4 months ago

Apple sues Israeli spyware firm NSO after Pegasus spyware was used to attack ‘customers worldwide’

Daily Mail  

Tech giant Apple is suing Israel's NSO Group as it seeks to block the 'hacker-for-hire' spyware company from breaking into one billion iPhones in circulation and other gadgets. Apple said it is suing NSO after the company's software, called Pegasus, was used to attack a small number of its customers worldwide. In a complaint filed in court in California yesterday, …

Apple sues Israeli firm NSO Group over spyware
3 years, 4 months ago

Apple sues Israeli firm NSO Group over spyware

Al Jazeera  

Apple lawsuit accuses NSO Group of using its Pegasus spyware to hack devices and enable human rights abuses. Apple Inc has filed a lawsuit in the United States against Israeli firm NSO Group, accusing the company of using its Pegasus spyware to hack the devices of Apple users. In a legal complaint filed in US federal court on Tuesday, Apple …

Apple issues urgent security update for all iPhone, iPad and Mac users
3 years, 6 months ago

Apple issues urgent security update for all iPhone, iPad and Mac users

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said they found malicious image files being transmitted to …

Apple patches exploit attributed to Pegasus
3 years, 6 months ago

Apple patches exploit attributed to Pegasus

The Hindu  

Apple released an emergency software patch to fix a security vulnerability that researchers said could allow hackers to directly infect Apple devices without any user action. The researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said the flaw allowed Pegasus spyware from the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire firm, NSO Group, to directly infect the iPhone of a Saudi activist. Although …

Apple fixes flaw exploited by Israeli firm’s Pegasus spyware
3 years, 6 months ago

Apple fixes flaw exploited by Israeli firm’s Pegasus spyware

Al Jazeera  

The flaw, disclosed Monday by Citizen Lab, allowed a hacker using NSO’s malware Pegasus to gain access to a device owned by a Saudi activist, according to security researchers. Apple Inc. said it patched a security flaw in the Messages app after security researchers determined that Israel-based NSO Group used it to “exploit and infect” the latest devices with spyware. …

An Explosive Spyware Report Shows the Limits of iOS Security
55 years, 3 months ago

An Explosive Spyware Report Shows the Limits of iOS Security

Wired  

The shadowy world of private spyware has long caused alarm in cybersecurity circles, as authoritarian governments have repeatedly been caught targeting the smartphones of activists, journalists, and political rivals with malware purchased from unscrupulous brokers. This week, an international group of researchers and journalists from Amnesty International, Forbidden Stories, and more than a dozen other organizations published forensic evidence that …

Apple condemns Pegasus spyware attack, says it is working on added protection
3 years, 8 months ago

Apple condemns Pegasus spyware attack, says it is working on added protection

India Today  

Apple, the tech giant which emphasises user privacy, was a victim of Pegasus spyware attack that snooped on journalists, activists and some government officials. The leaked database shows that iPhones running iOS 14.6 contain a zero-click iMessage exploit and this exploit could have been used to install Pegasus software on the iPhone devices of the targeted entities. While that means …

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