Germany Politicians Warned Of iPhone Hack After Apple Spyware Alerts: All Details
German authorities have told officials and lawmakers who received Apple threat notifications this week to assume their iPhones are no longer secure, as an investigation begins into a suspected state-backed spyware campaign. The attack is believed to rely on a zero-click flaw, meaning phones could be infected without any action by their owners. Security officials say the hackers needed only a…
German authorities have warned politicians and lawmakers who received Apple's threat notifications this week that their iPhones may no longer be secure. An investigation is underway into a suspected state-backed spyware campaign. The attack exploits a zero-click vulnerability, meaning infected phones do not require any user interaction.
Security officials believe the hackers only required the target's phone number. It is unclear whether Chancellor Friedrich Merz was among those affected. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) issued an urgent notice to government figures over the weekend, advising them to treat their devices as insecure. Chancellor Merz's spokesman stated that the incident is being taken very seriously, with authorities working diligently to investigate and support those affected.
The attack's modus operandi involves no linkage or file download, only the knowledge of the victim's phone number. While no specific spyware has been identified, security officials suspect it is state-sponsored. German lawmakers and officials are frequent targets of hostile intelligence services. Previous targets include Bundestag President Julia Klockner, who was compromised in a phishing campaign using the encrypted messaging app Signal, and the 2015 hack of the Bundestag, which resulted in the theft of 16 gigabytes of data from party members' computers.
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