Latest news with #MiaanGroup
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Apple alerted some users in Iran of iPhone spyware attacks ahead of Israel conflict, claim researchers
Apple reportedly warned some users in Iran that their iPhones are at a risk of being targeted by government spyware. According to a TechCrunch report, Miaan Group , a digital rights organization that focuses on Iran and Iranian cybersecurity researcher Hamid Kashfi, has published a report on the state of cybersecurity of civil society in Iran. The report mentioned three confirmed cases of government spyware attacks against Iranians, two in Iran and one in Europe, that were alerted in April of this year – months ahead of conflict with Israel. The researchers claim to have spoken to several Iranians who received the notifications over the past year. 'Two people in Iran come from a family with a long history of political activism against the Islamic Republic. Many members of their family have been executed, and they have no history of traveling abroad,' said Amir Rashidi, Miaan Group's director of digital rights and security, in an interview with TechCrunch. 'I believe there have been three waves of attacks, and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg.' Rashidi told the publication that Iran is likely the government behind the attacks, adding more investigations may be required to reach a conclusive determination. 'I see no reason for members of civil society to be targeted by anyone other than Iran,' he said. Kashfi, the Sweden-based researcher on the other hand, said he assisted two of the victims with initial forensic checks. Though he could not identify which spyware tool was used. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo 'Pretty much all victims spooked out and ghosted us as soon as we explained the seriousness of the case to them. I presume partly because of their place of work and sensitivity of the matters related to that,' said Kashfi, adding that one of the victims received notifications in 2024. Apple alerted spyware targeting in over 150 countries Apple, in recent years, has sent out similar alerts to users believed to be targeted with government spyware. This type of software is also known as 'mercenary' or 'commercial' spyware. These notifications have helped researchers document spyware abuse in countries including India, El Salvador, and Thailand. According to Apple's support page on 'threat notifications,' last updated in April, the company has alerted users in more than 150 countries since 2021. Apple does not name the countries or specify how many people have received the alerts. Big Question Answered: Why Google is Merging Android and ChromeOS AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Forbes
2 days ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Apple Issued A New Spyware Warning To Iranians—What To Know
Researcher believed Iran's government is behind the Apple spyware attacks. Apple has been issuing spyware warnings for some time, to alert those targeted by the dangerous malware so they can take action. Recently, one of these warnings was targeted at Iranian dissidents living in the country and overseas, according to a report in Bloomberg. The claims come from a report by Miaan Group, a digital rights organization that focuses on Iran, and Hamid Kashfi, an Iranian cybersecurity researcher who lives in Sweden. The pair told TechCrunch they had spoken to Iranian iPhone users who have received the Apple notifications over the last year. 'Two people in Iran come from a family with a long history of political activism against the Islamic Republic. Many members of their family have been executed, and they have no history of traveling abroad,' Amir Rashidi, Miaan Group's director of digital rights and security, told TechCrunch. 'I believe there have been three waves of attacks, and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg.' Iranian iPhone Users Targeted Ahead of Iran-Israel War The spyware victims' iPhones were hit ahead of the Iran-Isarel war, raising interesting questions about who could have been behind the attacks. More than a dozen Iranian iPhone users were identified as having been targeted by the government spyware, but human rights groups estimate that this is just a fraction of the total. The attacks could have been perpetrated by another nation state, such as Israel — or even in a joint initiative with the U.S. This has happened before, in 2010, when the two are alleged to have been behind a devastating attack on an Iranian nuclear facility using a worm called Stuxnet. However, Miaan Group's Rashidi told TechCrunch he believes Iran's government is behind the Apple spyware attacks. Further investigation is needed, but there is no reason for members of civil society to be targeted by anyone else, he said. It is unclear which spyware maker is behind the recent attacks on iPhones. However, the most recent reports have seen Paragon Graphite target devices. The news that Iranian dissidents were targeted comes as researchers at Lookout identified Iranian government affiliated threat group MuddyWater using DCHSpy spyware to attack Android users. DCHSpy collects WhatsApp data, accounts, contacts, SMS, files, location and call logs — and can record audio and take photos. I asked Apple to comment on this latest report and will update this article if the firm replies. Spyware Targeting iPhones — What To Do I have covered numerous reports of spyware targeting iPhone users, with variants including Pegasus and LightSpy which take advantage of unpatched software vulnerabilities. It's therefore integral that people who could be attacked keep their iPhones up to date. In addition, turning your iPhone on and off again can disrupt the malware, temporarily disabling it. Apple itself recommends Lockdown Mode, which reduces the functionality of your iPhone but also stops spyware from taking hold. If you do think you're a victim of spyware, or if Apple has sent you a notification, contact Access Now or Amnesty for help.
TechCrunch
3 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Apple alerted Iranians to iPhone spyware attacks, say researchers
Apple notified more than a dozen Iranians in recent months that their iPhones had been targeted with government spyware, according to security researchers. Miian Group, a digital rights organization that focuses on Iran, and Hamid Kashfi, an Iranian cybersecurity researcher who lives in Sweden, said they spoke with several Iranians who received the notifications in the last year. Bloomberg first wrote about these spyware notifications. Miaan Group published a report on Tuesday on the state of cybersecurity of civil society in Iran, which mentioned that the organization's researchers have identified three cases of government spyware attacks against Iranians, two in Iran and one in Europe, who were alerted in April of this year. 'Two people in Iran come from a family with a long history of political activism against the Islamic Republic. Many members of their family have been executed, and they have no history of traveling abroad,' Amir Rashidi, Miaan Group's director of digital rights and security, told TechCrunch. 'I believe there have been three waves of attacks, and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg.' Rashidi said that Iran is likely the government behind the attacks, although there needs to be more investigations into these attacks to reach a more conclusive determination. 'I see no reason for members of civil society to be targeted by anyone other than Iran,' he said. Kashfi, who founded the security firm DarkCell, said in an email that he helped two victims go through preliminary forensics steps, but he wasn't able to confirm which spyware maker was behind the attacks. And, he added, some of the victims he worked with preferred not to continue the investigation. Contact Us Have you received a threat notification from Apple? We'd love to hear from you. From a non-work device and network, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or Have you received a threat notification from Apple? We'd love to hear from you. From a non-work device and network, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email . 'Pretty much all victims spooked out and ghosted us as soon as we explained the seriousness of the case to them. I presume partly because of their place of work and sensitivity of the matters related to that,' said Kashfi, who added that one of the victims received the notification in 2024 It's unclear which spyware maker is behind these attacks. Over the last few years, Apple has sent several rounds of notifications to people whom the company believes have been targeted with government spyware, such as NSO Group's Pegasus, or Paragon's Graphite. This kind of malware is also known as 'mercenary' or 'commercial' spyware. The notifications have helped security researchers who focus on spyware to document abuses in several countries such as India, El Salvador, and Thailand. On Apple's support page for what the company calls 'threat notifications,' last updated in April, the tech giant said that since 2021 it has notified users in 'in over 150 countries,' which shows how widespread the use of government spyware is. Apple does not disclose the names of the countries, nor the total number of people it has notified. To help victims, since last year, Apple has recommended those who received these threat notifications to reach out to digital rights group AccessNow, which runs an around-the-clock helpline staffed with researchers who can investigate spyware attacks. AccessNow has documented cases of spyware abuse all over the world. Apple did not respond to a request for comment on the notifications sent to Iranians.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Iranians targeted with spyware in lead-up to war with Israel: Research
Find out what's new on ST website and app. According to new research, more than a dozen Iranians' mobile phones were targeted with spyware in the months prior to the country's war with Israel. TEXAS – More than a dozen Iranians' mobile phones were targeted with spyware in the months prior to the country's war with Israel, according to new research. Miaan Group, a digital human rights organisation based in Austin, Texas, found a number of Iranians who received threat notifications from Apple Inc. in the first half of 2025, and researchers believe they only identified a fraction of the total targets. Another round of Iranian spyware targets was discovered by Mr Hamid Kashfi , a Sweden-based cybersecurity researcher and founder of the firm DarkCell. The attacks mark the first known example of such highly advanced cyber-espionage tools being used both inside Iran and against Iranians living abroad. It's not clear who was behind the attacks. Miaan Group said the victims included two Iranian dissidents inside the country and a technology worker who is an Iranian citizen living in Europe, who were targeted with spyware on their iPhones. They were first notified of the incident via text message by Apple, which typically sends a threat notification message to victims when a hack is detected. Mr Kashfi said he found 12 victims, all inside Iran and working either in the country's technology sector or for the government. Both Mr Kashfi and the Miaan Group declined to name the victims in order to protect their safety. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singaporeans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore Singaporeans continue to hold world's most powerful passport in latest ranking Singapore Woman evacuated from lift in Supreme Court building after falling glass triggers emergency halt Asia Malaysian aide's unresolved 2009 death tests govt's reform pledge despite DAP chief's apology Singapore Prosecution says judge who acquitted duo of bribing ex-LTA official had copied defence arguments Singapore Singapore not affected by haze despite smoke plumes in Sumatra: NEA Singapore Miscalculation of MOH subsidies and grants led to $7m in overpayments, $2m in shortfalls Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving The threat notifications, which were seen by Bloomberg, describe the attacks as 'exceptionally rare' and costing 'millions of dollars'. The Apple notification, which is careful to note that the company doesn't attribute the attacks, compared the sophistication and cost of the recent attacks to Pegasus spyware from NSO Group. 'The extreme cost, sophistication and worldwide nature makes mercenary spyware attacks some of the most advanced digital threads in existence today,' Apple told the Iranian targets. 'This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do.' Apple didn't respond to a Bloomberg request for comment. The notification added that 'Apple has high confidence in this warning.' Mr Kashfi said his investigation concluded that 'zero-day zero-click' attacks were likely used. That approach exploits hidden vulnerabilities and require no interaction from the victim. 'Zero-click chains are more sophisticated, more expensive, one stage higher than typical hacking campaigns,' Mr Kashfi said. 'But they weren't shy about using it and burning it.' Neither Mr Kashfi nor the Miaan Group were able to do full forensic examinations of the targeted iPhones. In several cases, being inside Iran made examinations impossible. In others, victims only came forward months after the notification. Finally, other targets chose to take their targeted iPhones to be examined by the Iranian government security services rather than independent experts living abroad, Mr Kashfi said. BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Bloomberg
Iranians Targeted With Spyware in Lead-Up to War With Israel
More than a dozen Iranians' mobile phones were targeted with spyware in the months prior to the country's war with Israel, according to new research. Miaan Group, a digital human rights organization based in Austin, Texas, found a number of Iranians who received threat notifications from Apple Inc. in the first half of 2025, and researchers believe they only identified a fraction of the total targets. Another round of Iranian spyware targets was discovered by Hamid Kashfi, a Sweden-based cybersecurity researcher and founder of the firm DarkCell.
