Union Minister of Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has responded to concerns raised by Opposition MPs and others regarding threat notifications they received from Apple. These notifications have raised alarms, as they suggest that their iPhones may be targeted by state-sponsored attackers, attempting to compromise their devices remotely.
The notifications have ignited a firestorm of controversy, with accusations flying from the oppositions that the Central Government is attempting to hack into their devices for surveillance purposes.
Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has responded swiftly to the allegations, assuring the public that the government takes the privacy and security of all citizens seriously. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), he announced that a thorough investigation will be conducted into the matter.
The Government of Bharat takes its role of protecting the privacy and security of all citizens very seriously and will investigate to get to the bottom of these notifications. (4/5)
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) October 31, 2023
“The Government of Bharat takes its role of protecting the privacy and security of all citizens very seriously and will investigate to get to the bottom of these notifications. In light of such information and widespread speculation, we have also asked Apple to join the investigation with real, accurate information on the alleged state-sponsored attacks,” Vaishnaw stated.
The Minister further expressed his concerns about the notifications provided, stating that they appeared “vague and non-specific in nature.” He urged the i-phone maker to cooperate fully with the investigation by providing more accurate information regarding the alleged state-sponsored spyware attacks.
“Apple states these notifications maybe based on information which is ‘incomplete or imperfect’. It also states that some Apple threat notifications maybe false alarms or some attacks are not detected. Apple has also claimed that Apple IDs are securely encrypted on devices, making it extremely difficult to access or identify them without the user’s explicit permission. This encryption safeguards the user’s Apple ID and ensures that it remains private and protected,” Vaishnaw explained.
Moreover, prominent individuals who received these notifications include politicians from various political parties, such as Mahua Moitra, Shashi Tharoor, Pawan Khera, Asaduddin Owaisi, Sitaram Yechury, Raghav Chadha, Supriya Shrinate, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Revanth Reddy, and T S Singhdeo. Additionally, a few journalists, including Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire and Samir Saran, the president of the Observer Research Foundation, have reported similar alerts from Apple.
Notification from Apple:
The notifications from Apple, as shared by many recipients, warn, “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 Apple has acknowledged the possibility of false alarms, it advises individuals to take the warning seriously,” the notification added.
