German lawmakers may have been targeted by spyware
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on TechCrunch
German lawmakers and other prominent figures received an Apple alert about a possible government-backed spyware attack. Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security recommends treating the devices as potentially compromised, according to TechCrunch, which also cited the Financial Times.
Members of the Bundestag, the German Parliament, and other prominent figures received alerts from Apple informing them that they may have been targeted by government-backed spyware, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) said. The German government is taking the warnings seriously, its spokesman Stefan Kornelius told the Financial Times.
Apple periodically sends these notifications to users whose devices may have been targeted by spyware capable of stealing messages, location data and other sensitive information. These attacks can exploit so-called “zero-click” vulnerabilities, which require neither opening a file nor clicking on a link.
The BSI recommends that people who have received an alert consider their device potentially compromised. Apple does not identify the governments responsible and does not confirm that a phone has actually been infiltrated. The latest series of notifications was sent to users in 99 countries, according to TechCrunch.
