Apple will notify users whose iPhones and devices have been compromised by state-sponsored hacking efforts, according to a support document.
The tech giant published plans to inform these victims last week after Apple filed a lawsuit against NSO Group claiming that the Israeli company broke U.S. law by selling spyware to hack into iPhones.
When Apple detects that a user has been targeted by state-sponsored hacking, it will send an iMessage and email to the addresses on file and a Threat Notification will be displayed when the user signs into the Apple ID, the tech giant said.
Apple said in the support document that these users are targeted because of who they are or what they do.
State-sponsored attackers use exceptional resources to target a very small number of individuals and their devices, which makes these attacks much harder to detect and prevent, unlike traditional cybercriminals. State-sponsored attacks cost millions of dollars to develop, and often have a short shelf life, according to Apple. The vast majority of users will never be targeted by such attacks. Apple filed a lawsuit against NSO Group, claiming that the Israeli company broke U.S. law by selling spyware to hack into iPhones.
The company has been insisted for a long time that it only leases its technology to legitimate governments for the purpose of tracking criminals and enforcing laws and interests.
Ron Deibert of the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab said in an email that Apple's notification of victims of espionage is beginning to reveal what a real horror show NSO Group's services have facilitated.
He said that numerous individuals who were not terrorists or criminals but journalists, students, members of legitimate political opposition and other members of civil society worldwide have been hacked by governments using Pegasus.
There are no international controls on spyware companies like NSO Group, which is no surprise. Apple pointed out in their legal complaint that the company s executives are amoral 21st century mercenaries. According to the Citizen Lab research, Pegasus was used in 2017 to target prominent journalists, lawyers, anti-corruption activists and government officials.
According to an August report from the United Arab Emirates, the Saudi government and its close ally the United Arab Emirates have targeted three women who spoke out against it, a Saudi equestrian and an Emirati human rights activist.
The Biden administration imposed limits on NSO Group access to U.S. components and technology by requiring their permission for exports earlier this month.