High-profile Americans' iPhones may have been targeted in hacking campaign, cybersecurity firm for Harris-Walz says [View all]

Source: NBC News

June 5, 2025, 10:16 AM EDT


One of the few companies to specialize in iPhone cybersecurity said in a report Thursday that it has uncovered evidence in a handful of mobile phones of a potential hacking campaign targeting five high-profile Americans in media, artificial intelligence and politics, including former members of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

The preliminary research, conducted by the cybersecurity firm iVerify, includes a “significant amount of circumstantial evidence,” iVerify CEO Rocky Cole said. Apple, the maker of the iPhone, pushed back on the findings. But Cole said the report was worth publishing for use by the cybersecurity research community. Apple's reputation is sterling among security professionals, and if it is confirmed a hack occurred, it would be a significant development in the cybersecurity industry.

IVerify has not identified who may be behind the potential hacking operation, but believes the targets and technical sophistication suggest a capable spy agency may have been involved. Two people familiar with the investigation told NBC News that former members of the Harris-Walz campaign were some of the people iVerify believes were targeted. It’s not clear what initially set off the investigation.

IVerify said that in addition to the Americans who were targeted, a European government official’s iPhone had indications of remote tampering. It appears that last year, a hacker remotely and secretly installed a type of invasive, malicious program known as spyware to snoop on those users without their knowledge, iVerify said. Out of nearly 50,000 phones that iVerify analyzed, it found only six — all belonging to high-profile people who would be potential targets for an espionage campaign — that showed evidence of exploitation. Apple disputed iVerify’s conclusion that its evidence is a strong indication that iPhones were hacked.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/harris-walz-campaign-may-targeted-iphone-hackers-cybersecurity-firm-sa-rcna199468