India’s cybersecurity agency, CERT-In, is currently investigating allegations of mobile phone hacking made by senior opposition politicians who received warning messages from Apple. Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed the probe and stated that “Apple confirmed it has received the notice for investigation.”
Cybersecurity concerns raised by the politicians are now under scrutiny, according to a political aide to Vaishnaw and officials in the federal home ministry. Apple has not issued an immediate comment regarding the investigation.
This controversy emerged after Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of attempting to hack the mobile phones of opposition politicians. Several lawmakers shared screenshots on social media showing a notification from Apple, which read: “Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID.” A senior minister in Modi’s government also reported receiving a similar notification.
Apple clarified that it did not attribute the threat notifications to “any specific state-sponsored attacker” and mentioned that “it’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms or that some attacks are not detected.”
In 2021, India faced allegations of using Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to conduct surveillance on numerous journalists, activists, and politicians, including Rahul Gandhi. The government has not responded to questions regarding whether India or its state agencies purchased Pegasus spyware for surveillance purposes.
This investigation is expected to shed light on the alleged hacking attempts and the use of state-sponsored surveillance tools in India.
