NEW DELHI, In a significant development, technology giant Apple has issued warnings to a number of Indian opposition leaders and journalists, indicating that their iPhones might have been under threat from “state-sponsored attackers.”
According to Kashmir Media Service, several prominent individuals, including Congress members Shashi Tharoor, TS Singhdeo, Revanth Reddy, Pawan Khera, and Supriya Shrinate, publicized on X, previously known as Twitter, about the cautionary notifications they received from Apple about potential breaches to their devices.
Moreover, other opposition figures, such as Sitaram Yechury from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen head Asaduddin Owaisi, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, and Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha, shared similar revelations on their social media platforms. Of this group, only Owaisi is not part of the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) Opposition coalition, all of whom have expressed criticisms of the current Narendra Modi administration.
Additionally, media professionals like Observer Research Foundation’s Samir Saran, Deccan Chronicle’s Sriram Karri, and The Wire’s Siddharth Varadarajan confirmed receiving Apple’s security alerts. Other journalists, Ravi Nair and Revathi, also stated they were among the potentially targeted individuals.
Apple’s warning message highlighted the severity of the threat, explaining that if compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, one’s sensitive data, communications, and even device features like the camera and microphone could be accessed remotely. The notification underscored the sophistication of such potential attacks, even admitting the possibility of false alarms or undetected breaches.
In response to these alerts, opposition leaders leveled accusations at the BJP-led Indian government, alleging misuse of power and emphasizing concerns over citizens’ rights. AAP legislator Raghav Chadha related the recent warnings to the upcoming general elections, suggesting it’s part of a broader scheme of political repression. Chhattisgarh’s Deputy Chief Minister TS Singhdeo questioned the appropriateness of potentially using taxpayer funds for such surveillance.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and other leaders vocalized their resistance, asserting their commitment to confronting any surveillance efforts. Akhilesh Yadav emphasized the alerts’ implications for the state of Indian democracy, while Priyanka Chaturvedi expressed her surprise at receiving such a notification for the first time in her two-decade history as an Apple user.
It’s noteworthy that an investigation in July 2021 by multiple media organizations and Amnesty International had previously implicated the Modi government in unauthorized surveillance activities using the Pegasus spyware, developed by the Israeli firm NSO Group. This led to the Indian Supreme Court setting up an expert committee to delve into these claims. A year later, the court confirmed the presence of malware on several of the examined devices and criticized the government for not cooperating with the inquiry.