Apple warns German lawmakers their iPhones may have been targeted by spyware

“Something big is happening.” The words come from Hannah Neumann, a German member of the European Parliament who sat on the Parliament's former inquiry committee on the Pegasus spyware. She was speaking to The Record about a wave of alerts that has hit German politics since October 29. In her view, this series is “very different” from earlier ones.

That day, Apple sent a new batch of “threat notifications” to users in 99 countries, the company confirmed to the German site heise. The messages warn that an iPhone may have been targeted by “mercenary spyware”: a commercial tool reserved for targeted attacks, often used on behalf of states, according to Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Apple has named neither the spyware nor the party behind the attacks. In total, its various waves have now reached users in more than 150 countries, the previous one dating from August.

Who received the alert in Germany?

According to heise, several members of the Bundestag, other public figures and members of the federal government are among the recipients. Der Spiegel, cited by The Record, also mentions federal ministry staff and journalists who traveled with Chancellor Friedrich Merz to South Korea, Japan and Singapore. On Tuesday, November 3, Franziska Brantner, co-chair of the Greens, said she was among those targeted.

The exact number of people affected has not been published. The BSI does not know how many devices were actually infected, rather than merely targeted, or why these people were chosen, The Record reports. Germany's federal digital minister, Karsten Wildberger, says the government reacted “very quickly.”

Should you change phones?

The BSI wrote to lawmakers on Friday, October 30, less than 24 hours after the alerts. Accounts of the letter differ. According to heise, the agency asks recipients to contact it and to assume their device “may have been compromised.” According to The Record, which relies on an interview with the digital minister, it goes further: treat the device as infected and replace it immediately.

For the general public, there is no cause for panic: according to Apple, ordinary users are “almost never” affected by this type of attack. People at risk (elected officials, diplomats, journalists, frequently traveling executives) can, however, follow the advice Apple gives to recipients:

• turn on the iPhone's Lockdown Mode, which disables many features an attacker could exploit;
• get help from specialists, for example the digital security helpline run by the NGO Access Now;
• keep the system up to date, advice Apple gives to all its users, since the latest versions contain the latest security patches.

In France too, political figures have been targeted in the past, such as former minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher, whose iPhone was targeted three times.

A spyware meeting in Paris in a week

The timing is no coincidence, says John Scott-Railton, a researcher at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab. The attacks came to light on the eve of a meeting of the Pall Mall Process, the international initiative against the abuse of commercial intrusion tools, scheduled in Paris on November 11 and 12. Voluntary guidelines for companies in the sector are due to be presented there. The researcher would not be surprised if companies contributing to this work were among those affected by Apple's latest wave of alerts. For him, what has just happened in Germany proves that Europe is living through “an untreated epidemic of mercenary spyware.”

One question remains that neither Apple nor the BSI has settled: which spyware, and on whose behalf?

Update of November 12, 2026

On November 11, the third Pall Mall Process conference was held in Paris. The initiative was launched in 2024 by the United Kingdom and France against the abuse of commercial intrusion tools, spyware included. The conference adopted the first guidelines for companies in the sector. According to the British government, fourteen countries support them, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy and Japan. According to The Record, 43 countries were represented.

The text targets those who develop, sell or finance these tools. It asks them to vet their customers, build in technical safeguards against abuse, and monitor and report misuse. It also asks them to suspend sales and support when there is a serious risk of misuse. These recommendations are not binding and provide for no penalties. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs nonetheless sees in them the first global standard of responsible conduct, The Record reports.