Apple's 'alerts' kick up political row; government asks it to join probe with info on "alleged state-sponsored attacks"

New Delhi [India], October 31 : Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said that Apple has been asked to join its investigation into the 'state-sponsored' hacking allegations.
Vaishnaw said that the government is playing its role in protecting the privacy and security of the citizens and will initiate an investigation into the matter.
In a post on X, Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "We are concerned by the statements we have seen in media from some MPs as well as others about a notification received by them from Apple. The notification received by them as per media reports mentions 'state-sponsored attacks' on their devices."
"However much of the information by Apple on this issue seems vague and non-specific in nature. Apple states these notifications may be based on information that is 'incomplete or imperfect'. It also states that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms or some attacks are not detected," he added.
He stated Apple has also claimed that Apple IDs are securely encrypted on devices which makes it extremely difficult to access or identify them without the user's explicit permission.
"In light of such information and widespread speculation, we have also asked Apple to join the investigation with real, accurate information on the alleged state-sponsored attacks," he said.
Reacting to Apple's 'state-sponsored attack' message to some Opposition leaders, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "First of all they are talking about an investigation, which means they have clearly said that there has been a breach. And they have not denied that the Apple notification received by the opposition leaders is wrong in any manner. And I want to know who have they spoken to."
Pointing out that the investigation will reveal the real culprits behind this act, Chaturvedi said, "It is ridiculous that they want to target opposition leaders in India. Besides being opposition leaders, we are also Indian citizens and our fundamental right to privacy is being denied."
Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal questioned calling Apple for the investigation and termed the probe "laughable".
"Ashwini Vaishnaw, your bluff and bluster is not fooling anybody. Instead of sermonising the opposition about its role, your government must come clean. In your entire address, just like in 2021, you did not deny using spyware on opposition leaders. Your reluctance to issue a categorical denial itself shows you have a lot to hide in this matter. Your call to Apple to join an investigation is even more laughable. How can the criminal himself be the prosecutor?" Venugopal posted on X.
Apple, an American multinational, said it does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker.
Various leaders from opposition parties said that they had received notification from Apple.
The leaders of the opposition parties including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Raghav Chadha have alleged that the Government was behind this attempt to breach their devices. The leaders shared the screenshot of the warning received on their devices.
However, according to the Apple support page on its website, State-sponsored attacks are highly complex, cost millions of dollars to develop, and often have a short shelf life. The vast majority of users will never be targeted by such attacks. Apple says if it discovers activity consistent with a state-sponsored attack, it will notify the targeted users in two ways.
A Threat Notification will be displayed at the top of the page after the user has signed in to appleid.apple.com. Additionally, Apple will send an email and iMessage notification to the email addresses and phone numbers associated with the user's Apple ID.