Turkey replaced iPhones used by at least three government ministers after Apple warned that the devices may have been targeted with mercenary spyware, Middle East Eye reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report by MEE Turkey bureau chief Ragıp Soylu did not identify the ministers or the sources.
The ministers received notifications as part of a batch Apple sent on August 13 to targeted users in 110 countries, MEE reported.
The scope and date of the warning campaign were confirmed by Apple to TechCrunch.
Ankara believes attempts to compromise the devices failed because the ministers used phones with added security measures and encrypted applications, an unnamed Turkish official told MEE.
Turkey’s Cybersecurity Presidency (SGB) inspected and replaced the devices and added safeguards after the warnings, the official said.
The report cited no forensic analysis confirming whether spyware had entered any of the phones.
Neither the Turkish government nor Apple had publicly confirmed the part of the report concerning the ministers as of Wednesday.
The notifications are high confidence alerts that a person has been targeted and should be taken seriously, according to Apple.
However, an alert does not by itself establish that an attack succeeded.
Neither the spyware product nor the operator in the reported Turkish cases has been identified.
Apple does not attribute its notifications to particular attackers or countries.
Mercenary spyware attacks cost millions of dollars and target small numbers of people because of their work or public roles, often journalists, activists, politicians and diplomats, according to the company.
Apple has issued such notifications several times a year since 2021 and has warned users in more than 150 countries.
Senior Turkish officials also faced suspected attacks involving Pegasus in 2021 and changed their phones and phone numbers afterward, MEE reported.
Pegasus, developed by Israel’s NSO Group, has exploited weaknesses in Apple’s iMessage system to enter phones without any action by users, but no evidence has linked the product to the latest alerts.
The SGB was established by presidential decree in January 2025 to coordinate national cybersecurity policy, respond to cyber threats and protect infrastructure. The agency received powers in July to order internet and communications companies to take emergency measures before a court reviews them.
