2023-10-31 17:42:03
Several opposition party leaders, legislators and journalists from India received a notification from yesterday to today from Apple quite worrying. According to the alert sent directly by the company, the iPhones of the people who received the message and email may have been targets of attacks from a State.
According to The Wireat least 20 people were victims of the attack, including the deputy Raul Ghandiwho was recently convicted of the crime of defamation, although the sentence was suspended by the Supreme Court of India. Several of the victims have a recognized history of opposition to the prime minister’s government Narenda Modiwhich raises concerns regarding the possibility of political persecution.
I received it from an Apple ID, [email protected], which I checked. Authenticity confirmed. Happy to keep underemployed employees at the expense of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do? @PMOIndia @INCIndia @kharge @RahulGandhi
To worsen, as reported by Financial Timesthe country’s government was seeking, this year, to close a new contract with companies that manufacture spyware. India would then go from US$16 million of budget allocated for this purpose for up to US$120 million, involving negotiations with companies such as Intellexa Allianceknown for developing malicious software.
Furthermore, as recalled by the director of Internet Freedom Foundation, Apar Guptathe Indian government has already used the spyware Pegasusmade by NSO Group and widely used in contexts of persecution of activists and oppositionists. Before the Supreme Court, the country’s federal government did not clearly deny the use of these tools; the jurisdictional body even has a committee that seeks to investigate these practices, showing the seriousness and dissemination of the use of these systems.
Those spyware They often don’t even require potential victims to interact with links or other traps, hacking devices without people realizing what has happened. The invasion can generally give access to various personal information, such as location, messages, notes and even the cameras and microphone of the compromised device.
What those involved say
A Apple, in a statement sent to TechCrunch, confirmed the sending of notifications. The company also stated that it is not impossible for the alerts to represent false positives, as the detection of intrusions like this depends on signals that are often imperfect or incomplete.
Even so, the company advised recipients of the alert to be careful and take the warning seriously. It was also said that it is not possible to communicate what exactly motivates these alerts to be sent, as this might help attackers adapt their behavior.
India’s Minister of Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, reported, in turn, that the government is “concerned” regarding the situation and that it is conducting investigations — with which it invited Apple to collaborate “with real and accurate information”. He, however, called the notifications sent by Apple “vague” and speculation, highlighting that the country takes its role in protecting the privacy and security of its citizens seriously.
Deputies, activists and other people who received the alerts, such as Gupta, expressed outrage at what happened, said that notifications cannot be considered false alarms and asked for investigations to clarify the situation. Apple, it is worth noting, did not attribute responsibility for the attack to a particular state, although it stated that it was “supported” by a government.
We cannot forget that India has been gaining a lot of relevance in Apple’s business strategy in recent times. A greater proportion of Apple’s products are being manufactured there, including units assembled in India participating in the launch of the new iPhones. This factor may explain a less directly accusatory tone of the alerts sent.
This is not the first time that the Cupertino giant has sent notifications like this. Since 2021, people of almost 150 countrieslike in Thailand, have already received alerts like this. As noted by 9to5Mac, a security researcher also received the warning. In this case, the company recommended activating the Lock Modewhich limits the functionality of iPhones in the name of security.
Let’s see if there are any further developments!
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