‘Unprecedented’ Number of Apple Users Received Recent Spyware Alert
Date Published
August 20, 2026
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Apple customers in 110 countries received threat notifications recently alerting them to suspected spyware attacks targeting their devices, TechCrunch reports.
Senior researcher John Scott-Railton says that the “scale and geographic diversity of public posts about receiving notifications are pretty unprecedented.”
“For every public notification like this, you can imagine there’s a huge notification iceberg that the public will never learn about. This is a clear indication that something bigger is going on.”
Apple debuted its spyware alerts in 2021, which Scott-Railton notes has been a “big improvement” for encouraging users to seek help. The notifications can also serve as a starting point for investigations that can reveal even more cases, especially as spyware has proliferated in recent years.
Apple users that receive a notification should take it seriously, and are advised to switch on Lockdown Mode. Apple has yet to see a case where someone’s device was hacked while Lockdown Mode was enabled.
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