Apple Sends Trojan Warnings In 91 Countries

Apple has warned users of its iPhones in numerous countries about ongoing attacks with spy Trojans. In doing so, the company gives in to the Indian government to some extent and no longer directly associates the attacks with the state.

Malware developers labeled as “mercenaries.”

“Apple has determined that the attackers attempted to remotely compromise the iPhone,” said a notification email sent to affected users, which can be viewed by Reuters. The messages were not sent across the board to all users in a region, but rather specifically to those potentially affected in 91 countries.

What is noteworthy is a change in the names of the actors who want to get onto smartphones with the spy malware. So far, Apple, like many other companies, has spoken of “state-sponsored” groups. The iPhone manufacturer now works with the term Mercenary.

According to Reuters information, this change came after the Indian government in particular put pressure on the company. Indian opposition politicians accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of trying to hack their mobile phones after Apple warned of “state-sponsored” attacks in a statement in October.

Influence from India

Apple said it had extensive discussions with Indian officials before issuing the latest warnings. Since then, the company has used a different label that creates a less strong connection to the current government. It is unclear whether there were similar influences from other governments.

Regardless of the conceptual labeling, the security experts at Apple have been particularly vigilant when it comes to state trojans for years. Mainly with the Israeli NSO Group, which produced the widespread Pegasus malware, there was a really small war and their loopholes were always closed particularly quickly.