Apple on Thursday (August 13, 2026) sent out notifications to users across 110 countries, informing them that they may have been individually targeted by mercenary spyware attacks.
Researchers, investigators, and cybersecurity experts also confirmed an uptick in security notifications, with some sharing that affected users had reached out to them, according to the tech outlet TechCrunch . The iPhone-maker also outlined how its threat notifications are delivered to users. The company noted that since 2021, it had sent Apple threat notifications when it detected such attacks and that it had notified users in over 150 countries in total.
Apple explained the nature of mercenary attacks and how they differ from normal cyber crimes, according to guidance published on its site that same day. Targets for such attacks include journalists, activists, politicians, and diplomats, according to the company.
