It is probable that these assailants are focusing on you specifically due to your identity or occupation. A state-sponsored attacker may be able to remotely access your private information, conversations, or even the camera and microphone if they manage to infiltrate your device.
India’s opposition parties and several journalists
An email from Apple stating that "Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID" was received by a number of prominent opposition party leaders in India as well as journalists.
Here are the people confirmed to have been notified by Apple about the attempts to compromise their iPhones:
1. Mahua Moitra (Trinamool Congress MP)
2. Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena UBT MP)
3. Raghav Chadha (AAP MP)
4. Shashi Tharoor (Congress MP)
5. Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM MP)
6. Sitaram Yechury (CPI(M) general secretary and former MP)
7. Pawan Khera (Congress spokesperson)
8. Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party president)
9. Siddharth Varadarajan (founding editor, The Wire)
10. Sriram Karri (resident editor, Deccan Chronicle)
11. Samir Saran (president, Observer Research Foundation)
12. Revathi (independent journalist)
13. K.C. Venugopal (Congress MP)
14. Supriya Shrinate (Congress spokesperson)
15. Multiple people who work in Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s office
16. Revanth Reddy (Congress MP)
17. T.S. Singhdeo (Chhattisgarh deputy CM and Congress leader)
18. Ravi Nair (journalist, OCCRP)
19. K.T. Rama Rao (Telangana minister and BRS leader)
20. Anand Mangnale (regional editor, South Asia, OCCRP)
ALERT: State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone
After stating that "These attackers are likely targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do," the email with the subject line "ALERT: State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone" continues. A state-sponsored attacker may be able to remotely access your private information, conversations, or even the camera and microphone if they manage to infiltrate your device.
While it’s possible this is a false alarm
"Please take this warning seriously, even though it may be a false alarm," it begs the receivers.
Even though Apple's warning is using the same language as it has in the past to notify spyware victims worldwide, the fact that at least five Indians received the same alert at the same time (11:45 pm on October 30, 2023) raises the possibility that the people being targeted are a part of a cluster that is unique to India.
In a statement on Tuesday, Apple said
"Apple does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker," the company stated in a statement on Tuesday.
The corporation turned on these danger warnings in 2021, and people in about 150 nations have apparently received them since then.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, a Shiv Sena MP, tweeted the message.
Khera also questioned, "Dear Modi Sarkar, why are you doing this?" in response to the message he received from Apple on X.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a press conference
During a news conference on the subject, Congressman Rahul Gandhi charged that the Narendra Modi administration was making every effort to conceal the fact that it had "sold the government to Adani." He said, "Hack us all you want, but we won't stop asking questions.
" He added that the administration is making a concerted effort to divert attention away from the demands of the caste census. In response to his question, "Who is Adani really stealing from?" he said that the average person, the disadvantaged group, was bearing the brunt of the theft.
Apple notifications need to be taken very seriously
"It is imperative that the reports of Apple threat warnings be taken extremely seriously and that the origin and scope of the malware assault be ascertained via research. It is extremely concerning for our democracy since Indians, particularly journalists, lawmakers, and constitutional officials, have apparently also been targeted by Pegasus in the past, according to Prateek Waghre, policy director of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), who spoke with The Wire.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said
Congressman Shashi Tharoor took a jab at the administration while claiming to have "verified" the email from threat-notifications@apple.com. "Happy to keep unemployed bureaucrats occupied at taxpayers' expense, including myself! Is there anything more crucial to do?
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