Apple has issued critical threat notifications to high-profile figures and politicians across 99 countries, warning that their iPhones may have been targeted by sophisticated mercenary spyware attacks. Among those directly affected are members of the German federal parliament (Bundestag) and senior government officials, who received security alerts displayed directly on their screens instructing them to take immediate protective measures.
Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) confirmed that the alerts represent targeted surveillance operations aimed at high-ranking individuals rather than regular consumers. The agency advised lawmakers and officials who received the notification to assume their devices were compromised, immediately stop using them, and switch to alternative hardware. Security experts note that these state-sponsored attacks frequently deploy zero-click exploits, which can infiltrate a device without requiring the victim to click any malicious links or take any action.
The spyware threats extend far beyond Germany, reportedly targeting political figures, journalists, and human rights defenders in dozens of nations worldwide. The advanced surveillance tools used in these campaigns are designed to gain total remote access to devices—allowing operators to extract encrypted messages, access photos, track real-time locations, and secretly control cameras and microphones.
Addressing the situation, German government spokesperson Steffen Cornelius confirmed that authorities are treating the security warnings with utmost seriousness. He noted that competent security agencies have launched full investigations to determine the extent of the infiltration and ensure the integrity of official communications.
Apple stated that while standard consumers face an extremely low risk from such targeted mercenary attacks, flagged users should immediately activate Lockdown Mode and keep their operating systems updated to the latest firmware. The company continues to monitor state-sponsored exploit techniques globally, alerting designated targets as new attack vectors are identified.