Apple Meets Thai Officials Over iPhone Spyware Warnings

Apple met with Thai officials earlier this week to discuss spyware warnings received by politicians and other users in the country, Bloomberg reports. The discussions followed Apple's October 29 threat notifications, which reached users in 99 countries. Apple told Bloomberg that it issued the warnings after identifying activity consistent with mercenary spyware attacks, raising concerns about surveillance of Thai political figures. After meeting Apple representatives, Thailand's Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob said that the alerts alone do not establish that attackers gained access to the recipients' devices. Authorities also had no evidence connecting the attempted intrusions to Pegasus, the surveillance software made by NSO Group. Thailand was previously the subject of a documented Pegasus campaign. A 2022 investigation by Citizen Lab, working with Thai organizations iLaw and DigitalReach, confirmed infections affecting at least 30 people between October 2020 and November 2021. Those affected included activists, academics, lawyers, and others connected to the country's pro-democracy movement. Apple's warnings to Thai users in November 2021 helped initiate that investigation, with recipients contacting researchers for assistance. Apple has been issuing threat notifications since 2021, reaching users in more than 150 countries overall. The company says mercenary spyware operations devote substantial resources to targeting particular individuals, often because of their profession or public role. According to Apple's threat notification guidance, its warnings reflect high confidence that a user has been targeted, although detection cannot provide absolute certainty. Apple withholds details about how it identifies attacks to prevent operators from adapting their techniques, and its notifications do not attribute responsibility to particular attackers or regions. Recipients are advised to enable Lockdown Mode and obtain specialist help. A genuine warning can also be checked by signing in directly to account.apple.com. Note: This discussion thread is located in our Political News forum with special rules. Popular StoriesApple Now Inviting Media to October 28 'Launch Experience'Apple has begun inviting selected members of the media to a product launch experience in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 28, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a post on X, Gurman described the gathering as an "all-day product launch experience" for touchscreen MacBooks, a new iPad mini, and Macs equipped with M6 chips. Gurman previously reported that Apple would introduce the...iPhone Duo 2 Prototypes Include Under-Display Face IDApple's second-generation iPhone Duo could gain Face ID, with prototypes already incorporating the technology beneath the outer display, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest episode of his "Power On" podcast, Gurman described Apple's work on adding facial authentication technology to its foldable iPhone. The company is said to be testing the hardware for a successor expected...Apple May Phase Out Non-Touch High-End MacBook ProsApple will likely consolidate its high-end MacBook Pro lineup around touchscreen models, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman questioned whether Apple would keep updating its high-end MacBook Pro models without touchscreens. The company has retained the mini-LED M5 Pro and M5 Max models alongside the new touchscreen versions, which cost...