--- title: Apple sends new ‘Threat Notification’ alerts over... description: Apple sent another round of 'Threat Notification' alerts on August 13 warning select iPhone users of mercenary spyware attacks, a feature it has used since... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sends-new-threat-notification-alerts-over-mercenary-spyware-attacks-uml2fcqyx twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Apple sends new ‘Threat Notification’ alerts over mercenary spyware attacks | daily.dev og:description: Apple sent another round of 'Threat Notification' alerts on August 13 warning select iPhone users of mercenary spyware attacks, a feature it has used since... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sends-new-threat-notification-alerts-over-mercenary-spyware-attacks-uml2fcqyx og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/uml2fcQYx.png og:image:alt: Apple sends new ‘Threat Notification’ alerts over mercenary spyware attacks og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Apple sends new ‘Threat Notification’ alerts over mercenary spyware attacks **[BleepingComputer](https://daily.dev/sources/bleepingcomputer)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Apple sent another round of 'Threat Notification' alerts on August 13 warning select iPhone users of mercenary spyware attacks, a feature it has used since 2021. Apple does not name the specific spyware or attacker behind each alert, though it has historically cited NSO Group's Pegasus as an example, and forensic investigations have confirmed Pegasus infections in some past cases. Targets are typically journalists, activists, politicians, and diplomats, and Apple describes these as high-confidence alerts that should be taken seriously. Users are advised to verify alerts via account.apple.com, watch for phishing imitations, and enable Lockdown Mode if affected. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What does it mean if I get an Apple Threat Notification about mercenary spyware? It means Apple has high confidence that your iPhone was individually targeted by a mercenary spyware attack, such as Pegasus-style tools. Apple has sent these alerts since 2021 to users in over 150 countries, mainly journalists, activists, politicians, and diplomats. Apple does not name the attacker or spyware, but recommends enabling Lockdown Mode and contacting a security expert if you receive one. _daily.dev surfaces security reporting like this so developers can recognize real threats versus phishing attempts._ ### How can I tell if an Apple threat notification email is real or a phishing scam? Genuine Apple threat notifications never ask you to click a link, open a file, install an app or profile, or enter your Apple Account password or verification code. Real alerts come from threat-notifications@email.apple.com and also appear at the top of account.apple.com after signing in directly, which is the safest way to verify one. _Developers building secure products can follow daily.dev for real-world phishing and spoofing patterns to defend against._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [How to Detect & Block Spyware Before It Hits You](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-detect-block-spyware-before-it-hits-you-2gw2crh3d) · Medium · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Apple alerts exploit developer that his iPhone was targeted with government spyware](https://daily.dev/posts/apple-alerts-exploit-developer-that-his-iphone-was-targeted-with-government-spyware-vadlauxk2) · TechCrunch · 3 upvotes · 0 comments - [You've been targeted by government spyware. Now what?](https://daily.dev/posts/you-ve-been-targeted-by-government-spyware-now-what--qpbdfx5tf) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#cyber](https://daily.dev/tags/cyber), [#apple](https://daily.dev/tags/apple), [#ios](https://daily.dev/tags/ios) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sends-new-threat-notification-alerts-over-mercenary-spyware-attacks-uml2fcqyx) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Apple sends new ‘Threat Notification’ alerts over mercenary spyware attacks","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sends-new-threat-notification-alerts-over-mercenary-spyware-attacks-uml2fcqyx","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sends-new-threat-notification-alerts-over-mercenary-spyware-attacks-uml2fcqyx"},"datePublished":"2026-08-14T01:19:28.310Z","dateModified":"2026-08-20T16:36:10.328Z","description":"Apple sent another round of 'Threat Notification' alerts on August 13 warning select iPhone users of mercenary spyware attacks, a feature it has used since...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/c274773091414298d10950bdc19e142b?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/c274773091414298d10950bdc19e142b?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"BleepingComputer","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"BleepingComputer","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--as8nJ3qy--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774959951/logos/bleepingcomputer?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/bleepingcomputer"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sends-new-threat-notification-alerts-over-mercenary-spyware-attacks-uml2fcqyx","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"security,cyber,apple,ios","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BleepingComputer","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/bleepingcomputer"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Apple sends new ‘Threat Notification’ alerts over mercenary spyware attacks"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/apple-sends-new-threat-notification-alerts-over-mercenary-spyware-attacks-uml2fcqyx#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does it mean if I get an Apple Threat Notification about mercenary spyware?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It means Apple has high confidence that your iPhone was individually targeted by a mercenary spyware attack, such as Pegasus-style tools. 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Developers building secure products can follow daily.dev for real-world phishing and spoofing patterns to defend against."}}]} ```