Apple and Google have released several software updates to protect against hacking campaigns targeting unspecified users.
On Wednesday, Google released patches for several security bugs in its Chrome browser, noting that one of the bugs was being actively exploited by hackers before the company applied the patch.
Unusually for Google, the company did not provide further details at the time.
But on Friday, Google updated its page to say the bug was discovered by Apple’s security engineering team and Google’s threat analysis group, whose security researchers primarily track government hackers and mercenary spyware authors, indicating the hacking campaign may have been orchestrated by government-backed hackers.
At the same time, Apple released security updates for its flagship products, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and Safari browser.
According to the iPhone and iPad security advisory, Apple said it has patched the two bugs and is aware that “this issue could be exploited in highly sophisticated attacks against certain targeted individuals” running devices prior to iOS 26.
This language is typical of Apple’s way of saying that some of its customers and users are being targeted by hackers exploiting zero-days, meaning they know there is a flaw unknown to the software maker at the time of the exploit. This is often the case when government hackers target journalists, dissidents, and human rights activists using hacking tools and spyware created by companies such as NSO Group and Paragon Solutions.
Apple and Google did not respond to requests for comment.
