New Delhi: Several Opposition leaders, and at least one senior journalists claimed Tuesday that they have been “warned” by Apple Inc that their iPhones may have fallen victim to “state-sponsored attackers”.
Politicians who reportedly received the warning include, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra – recently embroiled in an alleged cash-for-query scam – Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Samajwadi Party president and Uttar Pradesh Assembly opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav.
Among journalists, The Wire’s founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan, resident editor of Deccan Chronicle Sriram Karri, and Observer Research Foundation president Samir Saran, are said to have received the Apple communication.
In a press conference, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged the government was “indulging in distraction politics”.
Reading out Apple’s “warning”, Gandhi named Congress leaders K.C. Venugopal, Supriya Srinate and Pawan Khera as being among those who had got the notification. “Do as much phone tapping as possible… you can take my phone, We are not scared,” he added.
Some of the leaders took to social media to share the news, with Moitra calling the alleged situation “worse than Emergency” and claiming that India was being run by “low life Peeping Toms”.
Received text & email from Apple warning me Govt trying to hack into my phone & email. @HMOIndia – get a life. Adani & PMO bullies – your fear makes me pity you. @priyankac19 – you, I , & 3 other INDIAns have got it so far . pic.twitter.com/2dPgv14xC0
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 31, 2023
“Wonder who? Shame on you,” said Priyanka Chaturvedi, while posting a screenshot of the “notification” on social media platform X [previously Twitter].
Wonder who? Shame on you.
Cc: @HMOIndia for your kind attention pic.twitter.com/COUJyisRDk
— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) October 30, 2023
Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF)’s founding director Apar Gupta said on X that “state-sponsored attacks” use spyware like Pegasus, which is developed by Israel’s NSO Group. IFF is a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation that advocates digital rights and liberties.
Gupta quoted Apple as saying: “State-sponsored attackers apply exceptional resources to target a very small number of specific individuals and their devices, which makes these attacks much harder to detect and prevent.
He added: “State-sponsored attacks are highly complex, cost millions of dollars to develop and often have a short shelf life….State-sponsored attackers are very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks evolve over time.”
Gupta further claimed there were many reasons not to believe this was a “false alarm”, adding that India has been a ground for deploying the Pegasus spyware.
“In October, 2019, state attackers targeted activists, and in July, 2021 they extended their reach to public officials and journalists. The Union Government has not clearly denied these activities in the Supreme Court of India,” he said.
He also cited a Financial Times report published in March, according to which he said India “was seeking new spyware contracts starting at approximately $16 million and potentially escalating to $120 million in the next few years”.
Multiple parliamentarians including @priyankac19 and @MahuaMoitra are making public statements regarding threat notifications by Apple. These threat notifications are due to state sponsored attacks that use spyware such as Pegasus to infect their smartphone.
As per Apple,…
— Apar (@apar1984) October 31, 2023
In an email headlined, “ALERT: State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone”, Apple Inc reportedly said the aggressors were “trying to remotely compromise” the phone associated with their Apple ID.
The email reportedly went on to say that these attackers were likely targeting them “because of who you are or what you do”. “If your device is compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your sensitive data, communications or even the camera and the microphone,” it said.
The company is said to have claimed that the warning may be a “false alarm”, but nonetheless urged politicians and journalists to take it seriously.