By Anadolu Agency
Germany’s Digital Affairs Minister Karsten Wildberger said Sunday that hackers had targeted devices belonging to members of the lower house of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, and government officials.
Wildberger told public broadcaster ARD that it involved “a notification from Apple that certain devices may have been compromised by so-called spyware.”
The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) reacted quickly and informed all those affected in writing, according to Wildberger.
According to the letter, as reported by ARD, iPhones have been receiving threat notifications from Apple since Oct. 29 stating that an attack involving so-called “Mercenary” spyware had been detected.
“We currently have no further information regarding the specific cause or background of the notifications,” the BSI said.
Apple describes its threat notifications as highly reliable warnings that a person has been specifically targeted. The notification does not indicate whether the attack was successful.
The BSI recommended that those affected “assume, as a precaution, that the device may have been compromised.”
Wildberger did not provide any further information on specific details. At the same time, he expressed concern about the reports.
Spyware is software that secretly collects or monitors a user’s information or activities without their knowledge or informed consent, often transmitting that information to third parties. It can be installed without the user’s knowledge or consent, sometimes by exploiting software vulnerabilities or through deceptive installation methods.
According to the BSI, attackers could use this to access messages—including those on encrypted messaging apps—as well as calls, contacts, calendars and location data and activate the microphone and camera.