Opposition Leaders in India Allege Government Hacking Attempts After Apple Alerts| Oneindia News

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Opposition leaders in India, including Mahua Moitra and Shashi Tharoor, received Apple alerts warning of potential state-sponsored hacking attempts on their iPhones. The government attributed it to an "algorithm malfunction," sparking skepticism. Leaders connected it to broader concerns, emphasizing the need for an investigation amid worries about political surveillance and privacy. Apple says it does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker. Watch.

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Transcript
00:00 Opposition leaders in India including Mahua Moitra, Shashi Tharoor, Raghav Chadha and Priyanka Chaturvedi, among others, have reported receiving alerts from Apple warning of potential state-sponsored hacking attempts on their iPhones.
00:15 The leaders raised concerns about government interference, sharing screenshots of the warnings. The government attributed the alerts to an algorithm malfunction.
00:24 "The advisory has been issued in many countries. If you look at the clear email of Apple, it is very clear. They have not sent any clear information anywhere.
00:37 It is just a hypothetical or an estimate. It is vague. You know that Apple claims that no one can hack their encryption system.
01:03 Secondly, Apple has just issued a clarification that there is no such thing as compulsive criticism.
01:20 This kind of advisory has been issued in 150 countries. So, friends, those who are not able to see the progress of the country, those who cannot see the country moving forward,
01:34 they are doing distraction politics. They just want to distract India from the way in which PM Modi is leading the world.
01:58 Moitra accused the government of attempting to hack into her phone and email while Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned if the Home Ministry would investigate.
02:06 Congress leaders Pawan Kheda and Shashi Tharoor also confirmed receiving the alerts.
02:12 The opposition leaders drew parallels to the Pegasus spyware scandal, emphasizing the need for an investigation.
02:19 Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers
02:47 who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID.
02:54 I have met everyone in my office. I have met Venugopal ji.
03:01 There are lists of people in Congress Party. Pawan Kheda, Supriya, Sitaram Yachuri, Akhilesh Yadav, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Mahua Moitra, Raghav Chadda, TS Singh Deo.
03:19 All of them are somehow involved in this matter.
03:30 AIMIM Chief Hasaduddin Ovesi also confirmed that he received an Apple threat notification last night that attackers may be targeting his phone.
03:39 Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav also confirmed receiving the threat notification.
03:45 Aam Aadmi Party's Raghav Chadda connected the attack to broader concerns, stating it wasn't just about individuals' phones but the democratic interests of the country.
03:55 India bloc leaders criticized the government's priorities with Tharoor expressing frustration at officials' focus on such matters amid the other pressing issues.
04:05 Meanwhile, Apple has issued clarification on the matter. It says, and I quote,
04:10 "Apple does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker.
04:15 State-sponsored attackers are very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks evolve over time.
04:21 Detecting such attacks relies on the threat intelligence signals that are often imperfect and incomplete.
04:28 It's possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms or that some attacks are not detected.
04:34 We are unable to provide information about what causes us to issue threat notifications,
04:39 as that may help state-sponsored attackers adapt their behavior to evade detection in the future."
04:46 For more UN videos visit: www.un.org/webcast
04:51 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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