According to investigators, the new wave of threat notifications sent by Apple last weekend triggered a large-scale feedback that has been rare in recent years. Several users publicly or privately claimed that they had been warned by apples that the content pointed to the equipment might be attacked by high-intensity spy software.
110 countries covered by notifications
Apple claims that this announcement was sent last Friday, covering users in 110 countries. Such attacks usually use targeted surveillance tools that are common in government departments and are classified by apples as “employed spy software”. Over the past few years, apples have sent similar warnings to users in over 150 countries.
Increased number of people seeking help
Mohamed Al-Maskati, an investigator for Access Now of Digital Rights, said to TechCrunch that the number of calls for help had reached a new high since Friday, including those who had received similar notifications in the past.
He claims that the number of people who sought help in this round was about 30 to 40 per cent higher than the level normally found after Apple had issued new notifications in the past. In his view, that represented a marked increase in the coverage and external focus of the current round.
Ukrainian military personnel are on the list.
A Ukrainian soldier who was involved in the war against Russia indicated that he had also received an apple alert. For security reasons, the soldier requested anonymity. He stated that he had initially suspected that this was a fraudulent information and had later verified the notification with apples.
The soldier also stated that he was aware that there were other persons within the Ukrainian military who had received the same warning, and some were concerned. The Ukrainian computer emergency response team CERT-UA did not respond to TechCrunch's request for evaluation.
The investigators say it's unusual.
The Citizen Lab Researcher John Scott-Railton, a digital rights agency that has been tracking government espionage incidents for a long time, stated that this round of notifications was “very rare” in terms of the number and geographical distribution of public invitations.
In his view, the public disclosure of the persons who had received the notice was a small minority and the number of undisclosed cases might be greater. This suggests that the actual scope of relevant targeted surveillance activities may be broader than previously recognized.
Two investigators also mentioned that Apple had adjusted the notification this year, which may have amplified the perception of such incidents. Now, in addition to receiving e-mails bound to the Apple account, users may also see alarms when iPhone locks, settings and web-end login accounts.
In the opinion of the investigators, new push paths have increased visibility and made it more difficult for users to ignore such security alerts. Apple is not responding to TechCrunch's request for comment.