Before war with Israel: Apple warned Iranian users about spyware

The Israeli-Iranian war in June was apparently preceded by targeted spyware attacks on individual Iranian iPhone users – At least Apple has warned of this. The manufacturer sent so-called threat notifications to some Iranian users for the first time in the first half of 2025.

Bloomberg reports this with reference to investigations by a human rights organization and a security firm. Apple's warnings were sent to "more than a dozen" Iranians overnight, but the actual number of people affected is estimated to be significantly higher. It is the first known example of such sophisticated spyware attacks on Iranian citizens.

Apple has been sending out spyware warnings for years

For several years now, Apple has been sending threat warnings to individual customers, alerting them to the fact that they may have been exposed to targeted attacks aimed at infiltrating spyware on their iPhones. The warnings have reportedly been sent to users in over 100 countries.

Such specialized malware usually uses unknown vulnerabilities, so-called zerodays, and can sometimes be infiltrated without the user having to do anything, for example by sending a manipulated iMessage message. If successful, the spyware allows the attacker to extensively monitor the victim's communication, sometimes including activation of the smartphone's microphone and camera. Apple apparently only sends the warnings if the attacks are carried out directly via the company's infrastructure –, for example iMessage or iCloud.

Apple originally referred to "state-sponsored attacks" in its warnings, but later changed the wording to "mercenary spyware". Due to the extraordinary effort and costs in the millions, this is "historically associated with state actors", the company writes and also refers to manufacturers such as the NSO Group and its notorious Pegasus spyware.

Apple withdraws lawsuit against NSO Group

Apple originally also took legal action against the Israeli NSO Group, but dropped its lawsuit last fall. The disclosure of details about its own defense strategy as part of the legal proceedings could ultimately strengthen such providers, the company explained at the time. Apple also referred to reports that Israel's government had confiscated sensitive material from the NSO Group – Apple therefore expected to no longer have access to crucial documents from the spyware manufacturer.

(lbe)