Apple Warns of 'Mercenary Spyware Attack' on Users in India, 91 Other Countries

FILE PHOTO: People walk near an Apple logo outside its store in Shanghai, China September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk near an Apple logo outside its store in Shanghai, China September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
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Apple Warns of 'Mercenary Spyware Attack' on Users in India, 91 Other Countries

FILE PHOTO: People walk near an Apple logo outside its store in Shanghai, China September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk near an Apple logo outside its store in Shanghai, China September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

Apple Inc has warned its users in India and ninety-one other countries that they were possible victims of a "mercenary spyware attack", according to a threat notification email that was sent to targeted users.
The company discovered that attackers tried to "remotely compromise the iPhone", Apple said in the notification email seen by Reuters.
Mercenary spyware attacks are rare and vastly more sophisticated than regular cybercriminal activity or malware, according to the notification email.
The iPhone-maker has sent threat notifications such as these multiple times a year since 2021, the notification email said, adding that it has notified users in more than 150 countries in total to date.
In October 20223, some Indian lawmakers shared screenshots on social media of a notification quoting the iPhone manufacturer as saying: "Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID".



5 Treated after Stabbing in South London, 1 Man Arrested

A drone view of London's Shard skyscraper with the Canary Wharf financial district in the background in London, Britain March 3, 2024. REUTERS/Yann Tessier/File Photo
A drone view of London's Shard skyscraper with the Canary Wharf financial district in the background in London, Britain March 3, 2024. REUTERS/Yann Tessier/File Photo
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5 Treated after Stabbing in South London, 1 Man Arrested

A drone view of London's Shard skyscraper with the Canary Wharf financial district in the background in London, Britain March 3, 2024. REUTERS/Yann Tessier/File Photo
A drone view of London's Shard skyscraper with the Canary Wharf financial district in the background in London, Britain March 3, 2024. REUTERS/Yann Tessier/File Photo

Five people have been treated following a stabbing Thursday morning in south London, according to London’s Ambulance Service.

London’s Metropolitan Police said that a man was arrested following the stabbing in Croydon, which British media reports said happened near an Asda supermarket. Authorities didn’t provide a motive for the stabbing, and it wasn’t immediately clear if the man who was arrested was among the five injured, The AP reported.

The ambulance service said that one person was taken to a major trauma center in London and four other people were hospitalized.

“We sent a number of resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, a paramedic in a fast response car, an incident response officer, members of our Tactical Response Unit and London’s Air Ambulance,” the service said.

London's Metropolitan Police said that “officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service to treat five injured people who were taken to hospital," adding that "their injuries are thought to be non-life-threatening.”

The violence came on the same day that a teenager faced sentencing for fatally stabbing three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed summer dance class in the northwestern English town of Southport.