Apple has warned high-profile iPhone users in 92 countries that they may have been targeted by “mercenary spyware”.

The California-based company sent a threat alert notification to some iPhone users on Wednesday, warning that it had detected a “mercenary spyware attack” that was attempting to “remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID”.

Apple’s warning to users added that the spyware was probably attacking them “specifically because of who you are or what you do”.

The company did not disclose the attackers’ identities nor the countries where users had received notifications.

“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 said in a warning first reported by TechCrunch, the American online technology business newspaper.

Apple sent the same warning to some journalists and politicians in India last year. Amnesty International, the charity, later reported that it had found “Pegasus” hacking software produced by NSO Group, the Israeli company, on the iPhones of some journalists in India. Users in India were also among those who had received Apple’s latest threat warning, TechCrunch reported.

The technology company added that it was unable to provide more information about what had caused it to notify the users, as that could help the spyware attackers to adapt their behaviour to evade future detection.

Apple has issued an increasing number of updates on its iPhone in recent years, partly in an attempt to plug holes in its operating system that may be vulnerable to spyware attacks.

In 2022 it introduced “lockdown mode” for iPhone users, which it said could help to protect devices against “extremely rare and highly sophisticated cyberattacks”. The setting strictly limits certain apps, websites and features, including messages, web browsing and calls via FaceTime.

The company’s support page says that mercenary spyware attacks are exceptionally well-funded and evolve over time, but that it relies solely on “internal threat-intelligence information and investigations” to detect such attacks.

Apple has just under a quarter of the smartphone market share, according to IDC, the analysis provider. It is estimated that more than a billion people own an iPhone.

⬤ Apple’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit valued at nearly $1 billion was rejected on Friday, with Judge Andrew Lenon KC ruling that it must answer allegations that it charged more than 1,500 UK-based developers unfair commission fees on purchases of apps and other content. The case, which was filed at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal last year, alleges that Apple charged developers unfair commissions of up to 30 per cent.

Apple has faced mounting pressure from regulators in the United States and Europe over the fees it charges third-party developers distributing apps via the App Store. It is also facing a separate case over allegedly defective iPhone batteries on behalf of 24 million iPhone users. The company is contesting both cases, which are not expected to come to trial before 2025.