Germany warns lawmakers' iPhones may have been targeted by spyware
Apple's threat notices do not confirm compromise, and the government has not said who received them.
Germany's federal cybersecurity office, the BSI, has warned that members of the Bundestag and other unnamed prominent people received Apple threat notifications saying their iPhones may have been targeted by cyberattacks. The government says it is treating the warning seriously but has not disclosed who was affected, including whether Chancellor Friedrich Merz was among them. Apple's notices do not name a perpetrator or confirm compromise, and the BSI advised recipients to assume their devices may be compromised. Apple said the latest batch of notifications went to users in 99 countries, and a Beirut-based filmmaker reported getting one after an earlier 2021 spyware attack on him. The episode underlines how such spyware, often sold by private vendors, keeps targeting civil society.
Why it matters
Members of the Bundestag and other unnamed prominent people have been told their iPhones may have been targeted, and the BSI advises recipients to assume their devices may be compromised. Apple does not say who carried out such attacks or whether a given phone was actually breached, so the uncertainty falls on the recipients themselves. Apple's latest notices reached users in 99 countries, which suggests the threat is not confined to Germany. The government says it is taking the warning seriously while withholding the names, leaving affected officials to act on a warning without knowing the scope of the risk to them.
Matters or hype?
Does this story matter, or is it hype? Vote before you see what everyone else said.