Apple and Google warn users worldwide of electronic espionage threats originating from government entities.

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Apple and Google announced this week the issuance of new warning notifications to users around the world, as part of their ongoing efforts to counter electronic surveillance threats and government-backed attacks. In a brief statement, Apple confirmed that it sent alerts on December 2 to users in more than 150 countries, without disclosing the number of affected users or the parties responsible for the hacking attempts. It only stated that it warns users when "suspicious of serious espionage activity backed by state-sponsored actors." For its part, Google, owned by Alphabet, clarified that it warned a number of its users on December 3 that their accounts were being targeted by the "Intellexa" spyware, a product of an electronic espionage company currently subject to US sanctions. Google confirmed that the attacks targeted "several hundred accounts" in countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Angola, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, noting that Intellexa "was able to bypass security restrictions and achieve effective results in hacking devices." These alerts are part of a larger strategy pursued by major technology companies to warn users – especially journalists, activists, and dissidents – of advanced spyware such as Pegasus and Intellexa. It is worth noting that these warnings do not mean that the device has actually been hacked, but they indicate a potential risk that requires extreme caution from the user, and a review of security settings and updates.