At least six Opposition leaders – TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, former CM Akhilesh Yadav, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturdvedi and Congress leader Pawan Khera – on Tuesday, October 31, received alerts from Apple about a state-sponsored surveillance attack on their devices.
The alert from Apple said, “State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone. Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID. These attackers are likely targeting you individually 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 microphone. While it's possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously. If you've previously received a threat notification from Apple, this additional notice is to inform you that we believe new or continued targeting has occurred.” It also specified about the next steps that should be taken by the user.
The message also said that state-sponsored attackers are very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks are constantly evolving. “Researchers and journalists have publicly documented such attacks against popular cloud services, including iMessage as well as Facebook Messenger, Gmail, Signal, and WhatsApp. Always update your messaging and cloud apps to the latest available versions, as they contain the most up-to-date security improvements. Some state-sponsored attacks require no interaction from you, and others rely on tricking you into clicking a malicious link or opening an attachment in an email, SMS, or other message. These attempts can be quite convincing, ranging from fake package tracking updates to custom- crafted, emotional appeals claiming a named family member is in danger.”
Sharing screenshots of the email and text received from Apple, blaming the BJP-led Union government for allegedly snooping on them, All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra said, “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.”
“Received from an Apple ID, threat-notifications@apple.com, which I have verified. Authenticity confirmed. Glad to keep underemployed officials busy at the expenses of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do? @PMOIndia @INCIndia @kharge @RahulGandhi” Shashi Tharoor shared.
Founding director of Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) Apar Gupta said that these threat notifications might be due to “state sponsored attacks that use spyware such as Pegasus to infect their smartphone”. He also added that the timing of these threat notifications is alarming with the upcoming elections and previous history of targeting activists and politicians with spyware. “Public cynicism or judicial stupor should not preclude us from demanding an independent, transparent technical analysis and clear disclosures from the Government of India regarding its spyware purchases and deployments. This issue strikes at the heart of Indian democracy,” he said.
Founding Editor of The Wire Siddharth Varadarajan also received an alert about the privacy breach from Apple.
This is not the first time that the BJP government has been accused of surveillance or planting evidence. In the Bhima Koregaon case, private investigations established that “evidence” was planted on the devices of the accused remotely.
In 2022, an investigation by Amnesty International found that the Modi government had hacked the phone of Rona Wilson, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, using Pegasus, an Israeli spyware.
Read: Explained: The revelations from the Pegasus Project, and who were those hacked
Earlier this year, Telangana BSP president RS Praveen Kumar too had received an alert from Apple cautioning him about a state-sponsored attack on his device. Praveen had alleged that either the BRS government in the state or the BJP government in the Union were behind the surveillance attack.