Apple tells users in 92 countries of attacks through mercenary spyware

However, the identity of the attackers and the nations where customers received warnings were not revealed by the firm in a notice released at 12 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday.

“Apple detected that you are being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID -xxx-,” it wrote in the warning to affected customers.

“This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do. Although it’s never possible to achieve absolute certainty when detecting such attacks, Apple has high confidence in this warning — please take it seriously,” Apple added in the text.

Numerous IT companies have issued advisories in recent months regarding increased state-sponsored attempts to influence specific election results. However, Apple did not comment on the timeliness of their alerts.

“We are unable to provide more information about what caused us to send you this notification, as that may help mercenary spyware attackers adapt their behavior to evade detection in the future,” the company told impacted customers.