Apple Warns Indian Journalists & Politicians of State-Backed iPhone Hack

Apple has alerted several journalists and politicians, about potential compromises to their iPhones and other Apple devices due to state-sponsored attacks. In a report by independent portal The Wire, an email from Apple titled, "ALERT: State-Sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone," was spotlighted.

The message from Apple conveyed, “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 it's possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously."

"Apple does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker. State-sponsored attackers are very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks evolve over time. Detecting such attacks relies on threat intelligence signals that are often imperfect and incomplete. It’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected. We are unable to provide information about what causes us to issue threat notifications, as that may help state-sponsored attackers adapt their behaviour to evade detection in the future," Apple clarified to Acko Drive.

It should be noted that the Apple notification has not been verified independently by Acko Drive. That being said, some of the impacted individuals have claimed that the communique has been verified.

This communication reached several politicians. Among the recipients were Mahua Moitra (Trinamool Congress MP), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena UBT MP), Raghav Chadha (AAP MP), Shashi Tharoor (Congress MP), Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM MP), and Pawan Khera (Congress spokesperson).

Journalists like Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire, Sriram Karri, resident editor of the Deccan Chronicle, and Samir Saran, president of the Observer Research Foundation were also targeted.

The warning from Apple is consistent with its protocol for spyware attacks. Interestingly, this particular message was sent to five individuals at 11:45 pm on October 30, 2023, suggesting a concerted targeting effort within the Indian demographic.

Priyanka Chaturvedi, Pawan Khera, and Shashi Tharoor shared tweets about this purported attack, following revelations of the Indian government's use of Israeli Pegasus spyware since 2019.

Apar Gupta, founding director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, outlined in a piece on X, “Initially, evidence showed that India had been a playground for deploying Pegasus spyware by NSO Group, an Israeli firm, since October 2019. The scope expanded to public officials and journalists by July 2021. The Union Government has not firmly refuted these allegations in the Supreme Court of India. Moreover, investigations by Amnesty, Citizen Lab, alongside notifications from WhatsApp, unveil a recurring pattern in India with a consistent victim profile.”

Last month, Access Now and Citizen Lab validated Apple’s threat notifications sent to Russian journalists, enhancing the credibility of such alerts. Additionally, Financial Times revealed in March that India is exploring new spyware contracts starting at roughly $16 million, with potential escalation to $120 million in upcoming years, involving firms like the Intellexa Alliance as highlighted in a report titled ‘The Predator Files’.

According to the Financial Times, the Indian government is exploring alternatives to Pegasus that are lower in profile.