New Delhi:

Apple on Tuesday responded to claims by opposition MPs – including the Congress’ Shashi Tharoor and Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (UBT) – of messages warning them of “state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise” their iPhones.  Apple said it “does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker”.

Apple also explained state-sponsored attackers tend to be “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 behavior to evade detection in the future.”

Sources told NDTV three people in Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s office received similar messages.

Opposition MPs Claim iPhone “Threat” Alert

Earlier today the above MPs all posted screenshots of the messages they received. Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, who also received this message, claimed Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and the Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadha, as well as CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and the Congress’ Pawan Khera were also warned of hacking attempts.

Ms Chaturvedi wrote: “Wonder who? Shame on you…” and “cc-ed” Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Wonder who? Shame on you.
Cc: @HMOIndia for your kind attention pic.twitter.com/COUJyisRDk

— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) October 30, 2023

Ms Chaturvedi also wrote to Mr Shah calling for an urgent inquiry. “As an Indian citizen, before being a Member of Parliament, I believe it is a violation of my fundamental rights… as a vocal critic of certain government activities, I am deeply troubled by these alerts warning about a state-sponsored attack…” The Sena leader said “this raises serious questions about our agencies being directed toward targeting the opposition instead of those who pose a threat to our nation”.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said he had “verified” the email from threat-notifications@apple.com, and threw in a jibe at the government. “Glad to keep underemployed officials busy at the expenses of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do?”

Received from an Apple ID, threat-notifications@apple.com, which I have verified. Authenticity confirmed. Glad to keep underemployed officials busy at the expenses of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do?@PMOIndia@INCIndia@kharge@RahulGandhipic.twitter.com/5zyuoFmaIa

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 31, 2023

Like several of the other MPs, Mr Tharoor tagged the offices of Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and called for an investigation into the alleged hacking bid. Another Congress leader, Pawan Khera, was more direct in his attack on the government, sharing a screenshot of the message from his phone and writing, “Dear Modi sarkar, why are you doing this?”

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Chadha posted a long note criticising the alleged hacking bid as an attack on the “democratic interests” and people of the country. “…Every Indian needs to be worried. Because today it is me, tomorrow it could be YOU,” he added.

Early this morning I received a concerning notification from Apple, warning me about a potential state-sponsored spyware attack on my phone. The notification states that, “If your device is compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your… pic.twitter.com/JrVD9Zh9im

— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) October 31, 2023

Apple iPhone “Threat” Notification

The message in question says: “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 state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your sensitive data, communications, or even the camera and microphone,” Apple While it’s possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously.”

BJP’s Malviya Hits Back

The ruling BJP’s IT Cell boss, Amit Malviya, was swift to respond and hit out at the “usual suspects”.

“Usual suspects raising a storm over ‘state-sponsored’ attack and pretending to be martyrs is all good…”

Usual suspects raising a storm over ‘state sponsored’ attack and pretending to be martyrs is all good… But this hullabaloo, in all probability, like in the past, will end up as damp squib!

Why not wait for Apple to clarify? Or is it too much to let go an opportunity to outrage?

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 31, 2023

“But this hullabaloo, in all probability, like in the past, will end up as damp squib! Why not wait for Apple to clarify? Or is it too much to let go an opportunity to outrage?” he posted on X.

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New Delhi:

Coming down heavily on Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks explaining the rationale behind the formation of a Delimitation Committee amid calls from the Opposition to implement the draft women’s quota law at the earliest, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday said his statement was “hypocritical” as a promise made in the BJP’s 2014 manifesto for a Bill that had been in limbo for long, took 9 years to clear the first legislative hurdle in Parliament.

Speaking to ANI after the draft legislation was passed by a brute majority in the Lok Sabha, Ms Chaturvedi said, “His (Amit Shah’s) statement was hypocritical as the BJP made an electoral commitment to women 9 years ago, in its manifesto for the 2014 (Lok Sabha) elections, to bring a women’s reservation law. Despite them (BJP) being the largest single party (in the 2014 and 2019 LS polls) and many in the Opposition raising a chorus for the Bill, it took them 9 years to bring it to fruition. It was hypocritical also because of the (contentious) clause that the implementation of the law is subject to a census and a delimitation exercise. The census has been delayed since 2021.”

Earlier, on Wednesday, Amit Shah, during the debate on the women’s reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, said the census and delimitation exercises would be conducted after the Lok Sabha polls next year and the women’s quota law will come into effect thereafter.

“The census and delimitation exercises will be conducted soon after the (next general) elections and women will have a greater voice in the Parliament,” the Union Home minister said.

Taking a further swipe at the BJP over the women’s quota Bill, Ms Chaturvedi said, “The census, which has been delayed since 2021, is not likely to happen this year either. My sense is that the delimitation won’t take place before 2029. Things might get a move-on thereafter as a new census is expected in 2031. They are merely hanging the Bill as a carrot to lure women voters. However, the women will see through their ploy and teach them a lesson (in 2024),” the Sena (UBT) MP said.

The women’s reservation Bill, which seeks to provide a 33 per cent quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, was introduced in the lower House as part of the legislative agenda of the ongoing Special Session of Parliament, on Wednesday.

The Union Cabinet approved the women’s reservation Bill on Monday, setting the stage for it to be tabled in Parliament.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday introduced the Bill in the first sitting of Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building. It was named ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’.

In 2008, the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government tabled the Bill in the Rajya Sabha and it cleared the legislative hurdle in the Upper House in 2010. However, the Bill wasn’t taken up for discussion and passage in the Lower House.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)