Members of a German delegation that travelled with Chancellor Friedrich Merz through South Korea, Japan and Singapore were among the people who received Apple’s latest “threat notification” warnings about mercenary spyware, according to reporting by Der Spiegel that The Record summarized. The delegation reportedly included federal ministry staff, lawmakers and journalists. Franziska Brantner, co-leader of the Green Party and a member of the parliament’s European Affairs Committee, publicly said on Tuesday that she was among the recipients.
Germany’s information security agency, the BSI, sent a warning letter on Friday to officials, lawmakers and public figures who received the notifications, telling them to assume their devices are infected and replace them immediately, according to Digital Minister Karsten Wildberg as reported by The Record. The BSI said it does not know how many of the devices were actually infected rather than merely targeted, or why those people were picked. The Record reports that Apple’s notification said alerts went to targeted users in 99 countries, and that Apple does not attribute the attacks to any actor or region. Threat researcher Costin Raiu, who verified several recipients’ notifications, said he has not so far seen signs of compromise in logs that would show which actor is responsible. Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton called the episode proof that European governments are vulnerable to mercenary spyware and noted that it became public ahead of a Pall Mall Process meeting in Paris on 11-12 November.
This follows the earlier round of Apple warnings we covered in August. The Record’s reporting does not name the spyware or any vulnerability.
How to check if you’re affected
Affected devices are iPhones belonging to people Apple has individually identified as targets. The Record’s reporting does not describe a check that anyone else can run. The only concrete guidance is from the BSI to its recipients: assume the device is compromised and replace it. For what a genuine Apple notification looks like and what Apple says to do next, see our earlier post on the August round and Apple’s own support documentation.
Sources
- Several German lawmakers and foreign policy staff received Apple warnings on spyware — The Record
- Apple warns users in 99 countries of mercenary spyware — The Record
- Angriffe auf iPhones: Apple schickte Spionagewarnung an Teilnehmer von Merz-Asienreise — Der Spiegel (linked from The Record; not read directly)