iPhone hacking row: Centre orders probe, asks Apple to join
The central government has reportedly ordered a probe into the allegations by several opposition leaders and journalists that tech giant Apple warned them of alleged "state-sponsored attacks" on their iPhones. Speaking to India Today, Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said he had already directed specific agencies to probe the matter and asked Apple to join the investigation with "real and accurate information." Meanwhile, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar claimed his colleague Piyush Goyal also received the Apple notification.
Why does this story matter?
On Wednesday, several opposition leaders shared the hacking alert sent by Apple on X. The leaders include the Congress's Shashi Tharoor and Pawan Khera, Trinamool Congress's Mahua Moitra, Communist Party of India-Marxist's Sitaram Yechury, and Aam Aadmi Party's Raghav Chadha, among others. This incident is reminiscent of the Pegasus snooping scandal that rocked India in 2021. It was alleged that Pegasus spyware targeted the mobile devices of over 300 people in India, including opposition politicians, journalists, and activists, among others.
Government responds to hacking attempt allegations
Vaishnaw assured that the government was taking the matter seriously and initiated an investigation, per Hindustan Times. However, he reportedly pointed out that Apple's warning message was not unique to India, but Apple had issued such alerts in 150 countries. Later, in a series of social media posts, the minister termed the information by Apple on the issue as "vague and non-specific in nature." He claimed that the government had asked Apple to join the investigation with "real, accurate information."
'Piyush Goyal got notification too, Apple must explain': Chandrasekhar
Separately, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar claimed that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Goyal also received a similar notification, per NDTV. While brushing off opposition concerns about phone hacking, he said, "It is the election season and people will pull all sorts of things from a hat." Goyal has also received one such message, and Apple has to respond to the government's questions, he added.
Apple's threat notification system explained
In its alert statement, Apple reportedly said that threat notifications aim to inform users who might be targeted by "state-sponsored attackers." As per its support page, these users are singled out based on their identity or occupation because of "who they are or what they do." State-sponsored attacks are highly sophisticated and expensive with a short shelf-life, making them challenging to identify and intercept, it says. Threat notifications have been dispatched to iPhone users in nearly 150 countries, per Apple.
'Possibility of false alarms, undetected attacks'
On its website, Apple revealed that detecting state-sponsored attacks depends on threat intelligence signals, which can be flawed or incomplete. The tech giant explained that some threat notifications might even be false positives and that certain attacks could go unnoticed. Apple also stated that it could not disclose what triggers such threat notifications, as doing so might enable "state-sponsored attackers" to modify their tactics and avoid detection in the future.
Other opposition leaders, journalists also on list
Apart from the aforementioned leaders, three people in Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's office also received similar messages, per NDTV. Other opposition leaders who have reportedly received the threat notification include Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Priyanka Chaturvedi, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, Congress stalwart KC Venugopal, and Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule. Some journalists have also been alerted on their iPhones, including The Wire's Founding Editor Siddharth Varadarajan and Deccan Chronicle's Resident Editor Sriram Karri.
TMC's Moitra to approach LS Speaker Birla
Meanwhile, TMC MP Moitra—who is at the center of the cash-for-query scandal involving industrialist Darshan Hiranandani—has tweeted that she will write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla over Apple's purported "state-sponsored attack" warning. She requested Birla to summon Union Home Affairs Ministry officials over the issue. Moitra added the incident was a "real breach" that Information Technology Minister Vaishnaw "needs to worry about."
Know about Pegasus spyware scandal of 2021
The incident is reminiscent of the 2021 Pegasus scandal In india. In 2021, the global collaborative Pegasus Project investigations disclosed that Pegasus spyware targeted mobile devices of over 300 people in India, including opposition politicians, journalists, and activists, among others. Pegasus is a military-grade spyware developed by the Israel-based company NSO Group. It is accessible to verified government clients. When the Pegasus Project findings surfaced, the BJP's central government faced accusations of acquiring Pegasus to snoop on its critics.
