Germany says lawmakers’ iPhones may have been hacked with spyware

The German government has warned politicians and public figures that their iPhones may have been compromised by government-backed spyware. This comes just days after Apple began notifying users that their devices might have been hacked. Germany's federal cybersecurity office, BSI, disclosed that members of the Bundestag and other unnamed notable individuals had received Apple's warnings.

BSI spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said the government in Berlin is taking the incident seriously, but declined to disclose which officials may have been targeted. Apple periodically issues threat notifications to individuals believed to have been compromised by spyware, which can stealthily harvest messages, location data, and other sensitive information from phones. This type of spyware typically utilizes zero-click exploits, enabling infiltration without requiring the victim to click on a link or open a file.

Apple does not attribute attacks to specific governments or confirm if a device has been compromised. Consequently, the BSI advised all recipients of Apple's threat notifications to assume their device may have been compromised. Other countries beyond Germany also received the recent Apple alert, including filmmaker Radwan Mortada from Beirut, who received a notification last updated from an earlier attack in 2021.

The source of the latest spyware attacks remains unknown, as does the origin of the government that orchestrated the targeting. The incident underscores the clandestine nature of an increasing number of attacks against members of civil society. Governments typically do not create these tools themselves; instead, they often purchase them from private vendors, commonly referred to as "mercenary spyware" makers.

Israel's NSO Group, known for its controversial Pegasus spyware, is one such vendor. Germany's national central criminal investigation agency, BKA, reportedly acquired access to Pegasus in 2019.