The Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, announced the government’s commitment to thoroughly investigate the threat alerts.
The central government revealed on Thursday that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has launched an inquiry and issued a notice to Apple. This action was prompted by claims from at least seven opposition leaders who received emails from Apple. The emails cautioned them about potential “state-sponsored” attackers attempting remote compromises on iPhones linked to their identities.
IT Secretary S. Krishnan stated on Thursday that “CERT-In, the national authority responsible for addressing computer security incidents, has initiated an investigation… Apple will collaborate in this inquiry.”
Previously, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had expressed the government’s determination to uncover the origins of these threat alerts from the tech giant, seeking Apple’s cooperation.
He affirmed, “The Government of Bharat takes its role in safeguarding the privacy and security of all citizens seriously and will conduct a thorough investigation into these notifications. Given this information and the significant speculation, we have also requested Apple’s participation in the investigation, providing genuine and accurate information regarding the alleged state-sponsored attacks,” as Vaishnaw conveyed through a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter).
The “threat alerts” have led to a political uproar, with the Congress party demanding an inquiry by the Lok Sabha’s Standing Committee on Information and Technology. Karthi Chidambaram, a Congress MP and son of former Home Minister P. Chidambaram, revealed that he was writing to the panel’s chairperson, Prataprao Jadhav, urging Apple’s summoning regarding their alerts warning politicians about “state-sponsored attacks.”
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey took a jab at the situation, noting that the panel operates in accordance with Lok Sabha’s rules and regulations, rather than being influenced by individual political leaders such as Shashi Tharoor or Rahul Gandhi.
On Tuesday, nearly two dozen opposition leaders, including TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, and AAP MP Raghav Chadha, reported receiving alerts on their Apple iPhones cautioning them about “state-sponsored attackers attempting remote compromises” on their devices.
