iPhone snooping alert to Opposition leaders: Apple joins CERT-In probe

New Delhi (TIP)- Apple on Thursday, November 2, joined the CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) — the government’s nodal agency on cyber security — in connection with the probe into allegations of attempts to hack the iPhones of some Opposition leaders. The controversy erupted after some of the leaders who use Apple phones received warnings of “state-sponsored attacks” on their devices from the company.
The government, meanwhile, said the investigation is focused on “determining if the Apple products are secure and safe and can be trusted to protect the privacy of the consumers”.
The IT Ministry had sent a notice to Apple, seeking an explanation on the alert sent to political leaders and a few mediapersons, warning them of “state-sponsored attackers who are remotely trying to compromise” their iPhones, said Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
“The government is determined to get to the bottom of this. Our investigation is focused on determining if the Apple products are secure and safe and can be trusted to protect the privacy of the consumers,” Chandrasekhar told The Indian Express. “If Apple devices are safe… we want to know what those ‘threat notification messages’ were. We have asked them to explain. If their devices are secure and safe, they should be transparent and disclose the vulnerabilities to their consumers and the government,” the minister said.
The MoS said Apple should join the investigation. “Since the threat notifications have gone to 150 countries, it’s important that Apple joins the investigation and explain honestly and transparently,” Chandrasekhar added.
On Wednesday, November 1, Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told The Indian Express that the CERT-In has started an investigation. Sources in the government said that an Apple team joined the investigation on Thursday.
Several political leaders, mainly from the Opposition, including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, TMC’s Mahua Moitra and AAP’s Raghav Chadha, as well as a few journalists, claimed to have received a notification from Apple about “state-sponsored attackers” remotely trying to compromise their iPhones. While Opposition MPs in the IT Standing Committee have sought a meeting of the panel to discuss the issue, CPIM MP John Brittas has written to the committee chairman Pratap Rao Jadhav, seeking a meeting. However, BJP’s Nishikant Dubey, who is a member of the panel, pointed out that the committee does not discuss “day-to-day issues”.
The CERT-In (Computer Emergency Response Team) had identified certain vulnerabilities in iPhone’s operating system iOS and issued a formal advisory on October 27, just ahead of Apple launching its new products.