Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has dismissed concerns raised by the opposition regarding iPhone hacking. This comes after Apple sent out a notification regarding potential state-sponsored attacks. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Chandrasekhar stated that these concerns were being raised due to the ongoing election season and that similar notifications have been received in many countries.
However, Chandrasekhar also supported his colleague Ashwini Vaishnaw’s call for an investigation and emphasized that Apple should clarify the meaning of the notification, especially in light of their claims about the security of their devices. He added that either Apple’s platform has been compromised, or the notification itself is unreliable, and Apple needs to explain which one it is. Chandrasekhar also called for Apple to disclose the identity of the state actors mentioned in the notification.
The opposition has been alarmed by the message from Apple, which stated, “State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone.” The message raised concerns about data security and privacy, particularly in the backdrop of the Pegasus controversy. Several opposition MPs, including Pawan Khera, Shashi Tharoor, Asaduddin Owaisi, and Raghav Chadha, shared screenshots of the messages they received on social media.
In response to the controversy, Apple stated that it does not attribute the notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker. The company explained that detecting such attacks relies on imperfect and incomplete threat intelligence signals. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw described Apple’s information on the issue as vague and non-specific. He assured that the government takes citizens’ privacy and security seriously and will investigate the matter thoroughly. Apple has been requested to cooperate with the investigation.
The situation is currently unfolding, and further updates are awaited.
