Not a joke: Here is why Apple sent a warning message to iPhone users in 100 countries
Apple is warning many iPhone users across the world about targeted spyware attacks. In recent days, many iPhone users, including some journalists, have reportedly received alarming notifications that they may be victims of what the company calls 'mercenary spyware.' The company has confirmed that these notifications were sent to affected users in 100 countries — over 150 countries in total.Apple says that these alerts are part of its official threat notification system, which the company uses to inform users of serious cybersecurity risks — specifically, those involving highly sophisticated spyware campaigns. According to Apple's support page, the notified spyware attacks are 'targeted mercenary spyware attacks,' often carried out by private companies that develop surveillance tools and sell them to governments.advertisementApple explains that these attacks are highly selective and expensive to deploy, targeting individuals not at random but because of 'who they are or what they do.'
In the recent wave of alerts, among the iPhone users who reveal they received the notification are Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a Dutch right-wing commentator, and Ciro Pellegrino, an Italian journalist associated with the online outlet Fanpage, reports TechCrunch. Vlaardingerbroek posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating that she received the warning and viewed it as an attempt to intimidate or silence her. Pellegrino confirmed in an article that he was notified via both email and text message. He made it clear that this was no prank or phishing scheme, writing, 'Yes, it is not a joke.'
Post shared by Eva Vlaardingerbroek on X (Formally Twitter)
advertisementIn the warning message, Apple told recipients that it had 'detected a targeted mercenary spyware attack against your iPhone.' The company informed them that this attack is aimed at gaining entry into a specific iPhone. 'This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do. Although it's never possible to achieve absolute certainty when detecting such attacks, Apple has high confidence in this warning. Please take it seriously,' reads Apple's notification, as shared by recipients.This isn't the first time Apple has issued such warnings. The company has previously alerted users when they were being targeted by similar spyware. In July 2024, a similar wave of notifications was sent, though the details of that campaign remain undisclosed. Apple stresses that while the majority of iPhone users will never be targeted in this way, the attacks are serious enough that those who receive a notification should not ignore it. The company notes that if it detects activity consistent with a mercenary spyware attack, it notifies the targeted users in two ways: 'A Threat Notification is displayed at the top of the page after the user signs in to account.apple.com, and it sends an email and iMessage notification to the email addresses and phone numbers associated with the user's Apple Account.'
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We hear another update is in works and will hit stands this winter, but until then, this is a great introduction to Elon Musk. While Vance's book is a great starting book for those who want to get a racy, entertaining (and generally positive) look at the Musk life, for those who want a really detailed look at the billionaire, nothing comes close to Walter Isaacson's Elon Musk. Isaacson is known for his exhaustive biographies of other eccentric geniuses like Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci, and he handles Musk in pretty much the same way. The book revolves around a number of interviews with the people who have played a role in Musk's life and unlike Vance, Isaacson's picture of Musk is not an overly rosy one. Just as he did not try to analyse Jobs but let other people and incidents push the narrative, Isaacson lets his colleagues, friends and even rivals speak freely of Musk, letting the reader draw conclusions. Musk has again collaborated with the book and significantly has opened up about his disturbing childhood, featuring a father described as a sociopath and a 'Jekyll and Hyde' figure, who was not averse to severely abusing his son. Such is the impact of his father that Isaacson speculates whether this might not have made Musk the moody, unpredictable and often harsh person he is. There are also details of his almost brusque, bordering on insensitive interactions with his colleagues and rivals. This is Elon Musk, warts and all, as seen by those near him and himself. It was released in 2023, so there is not as much on Musk's takeover of Twitter and his subsequent handling of the social media, and virtually no mention of his role in the US Presidential elections and DOGE, but this still remains pretty much THE book to read on Elon Musk, although at almost 700 pages, it can sometimes feel a little overwhelming. Be patient with it, and you will be rewarded with the most comprehensive picture of Musk that any book can give, While Vance's and Isaacson's books tell us a lot about Elon Musk, both suffer from ending well before Musk's most public stint of all – his takeover of Twitter, and involvement in Donald Trump's election. While those chapters in Musk's life are ongoing, those who want a book that covers at least some of them should try Faiz Siddiqui's recently-released, dramatically titled Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk, a 330-page book which revolves around Musk's recent work at Tesla and Twitter. Siddiqui details Musk's unrelenting, stubborn and often bulldozing style of work in detail, alleging that he was often economical with the truth while tackling matters. The book also covers the challenges he faced at Tesla and Twitter (and why he rebranded it as X) and how he (mis)handled them. If Vance seemed a little too positive towards Musk in his book, Siddiqui seems to go to the other extreme, highlighting Musk's dark side time and again. The result is a narrative that is compelling but at times a little too negative. That said, this is easily the best book on Musk's recent roles, with a lengthy afterword on Musk's involvement in Trump's campaign and his appointment in DOGE. Siddiqui ends with what now seem like rather prophetic words: 'Even if DOGE is a big success…history has shown that he (Musk) is unlikely to be satisfied; the pattern shows he'll try to seek more power and responsibility, to go all-in on the next moon shot, And if it isn't, and his 'samurai spirit' calls him to commit seppuku rather than admit failure, he very well might take a lot of us with him next, before dusting himself off and trying again.' But what of the voice of the man himself? Elon Musk has not yet written his autobiography (we so hope he will), but if you are interested in reading his take on life and work in his own words, then the very appropriately Elon Musk in His Own Words, a slim volume edited by Jessica Easto is an excellent option. It was first released in 2017 and the latest edition is updated to 2020, so it can seem a little dated, but is a very handy collection of some of his most notable quotations over time on subjects. You can get Musk's take on topics as varied as early life ('When I was a kid…I was a bit of a smart aleck. It was a recipe for disaster, 'the best teacher I ever had was my elementary school principal, 'I do think a good framework for thinking is physics.'). to business ('Profit just means that people are paying you more for whatever you are doing than you're spending to create it…that's a good thing'), to personal values ('I think…it's probably a good thing that we do eventually die,' 'I think possessions kind of weigh you down, then they're kind of an attack vector.' ), and even some witty rejoinders ('Some people use their hair to express themselves; I use Twitter,'). There is even a quote from Inc magazine in 2007 that might give those alarmed at his battle with Trump some hope of a rapprochement: 'Life is too short for long-term grudges.' Will Musk return to the White House as a friend, stake a claim to it as a rival (he has tweeted about starting a political party!), or leave the US altogether and focus on Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter? One cannot rule any of those possibilities out, because as all his biographers stress time and again: You never know with Elon Musk.
