SecurityNov 4, 2026, 9:43 AM UTC·2 min read

Apple Warns Users in 99 Countries of Possible Spyware Attacks

Apple has sent spyware threat notifications to device owners in 99 countries, and Germany has opened an inquiry over possible targeting of its officials.

An iPhone lying on a desk showing a security warning notification on its lock screen. — Image: 3DNews - Daily Digital Digest

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Apple has sent a new wave of threat notifications to device owners in 99 countries, warning that they may have been targeted by spyware. Germany has opened an investigation after reports that the targets may include officials from both the legislative and executive branches of government.

The company sends such alerts from time to time to users it believes may have been attacked with spyware. Apple does not say who might be behind the activity and does not confirm that specific devices were compromised. It does urge recipients to take the warning seriously and to seek help from specialists.

German officials among recipients

German lawmakers and government officials began receiving the notifications on Thursday, 29 October. Over the weekend, the country's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) issued an urgent warning advising recipients to "assume that their devices are no longer secure". The government said it takes the incident and the warning "very seriously" and is doing its utmost to establish what happened.

A government spokesperson declined to say whether the head of state was among those affected. The attacks reportedly relied on a zero-click exploit, a type of attack that can compromise a device without any action by its owner.

A global wave

The alerts were not limited to Germany. Radwan Mortada, a filmmaker based in Beirut, said he received one too, and that in this latest round Apple device owners in 99 countries were notified. Mortada says he was previously targeted with the Pegasus spyware in 2017 and 2021. Who is responsible for the current campaign has not been established.

For ordinary users, the episode is a reminder that zero-click attacks can hit even carefully maintained devices. Anyone who receives an Apple threat notification should follow the company's advice and contact security specialists rather than dismiss the message. The German inquiry is now trying to determine the circumstances of the incident and which officials were affected.