The German government is warning politicians and public figures that they were targeted by government‑backed spyware, days after Apple began sending out notifications warning victims that their iPhones may have been hacked.
Germany’s federal cybersecurity office, the BSI, said in a note over the weekend that members of the Bundestag and other notable individuals had received warnings from Apple indicating possible cyber‑attack targeting. The BSI advised recipients to assume their devices might have been compromised.
Spokesperson Stefan Kornelius stated that Berlin is “taking the incident and the warning very seriously,” though he did not disclose which federal officials were affected or whether Chancellor Friedrich Merz was among them.
Apple issues periodic threat notifications to users it suspects have been targeted by sophisticated spyware capable of stealing messages, location data, and other sensitive information. These attacks often rely on zero‑click exploits, which can infiltrate a device without any user interaction.
The BSI emphasized that anyone receiving an Apple threat notification should consider their device potentially compromised, as Apple does not attribute attacks to specific actors or confirm actual breaches.
In addition to German officials, others worldwide have received similar alerts. Beirut‑based filmmaker Radwan Mortada reported receiving a fresh warning from Apple after a previous spyware incident in 2021.
Apple’s latest batch of threat notifications was sent to users in 99 countries, though the perpetrators of these attacks and any state sponsorship remain unknown.
The episode underscores the growing threat to civil‑society actors from mercenary spyware vendors. Governments typically acquire these tools from private firms such as Israel’s NSO Group, known for Pegasus. Germany’s BKA reportedly purchased access to Pegasus in 2019.
