Apple Warns Shashi Tharoor, Mahua Moitra, Other Prominent Indians of State-Sponsored Threats: What’s Going On?

Ahead of the 2024 general elections, several prominent Indians are receiving threat notifications from Apple, informing them about targeting from “state-sponsored attackers.” Notable personalities who’ve received the alert include Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor, Krishnagar Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, and Punjab Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha.

Apple Warns Indian Politicians of State-Sponsored Hacking Threats: What You Need to Know

Earlier today, Mahua Moitra took her official X (formerly known as Twitter) account, stating that she had received a text and email from Cupertino-based tech giant Apple, warning her about how state-sponsored attackers “may be” targeting her iPhone. The screenshot of the email she shared reads, “Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID.”

The email goes on to warn that if the attackers are successful, they may be able to access sensitive information, communications, or even the camera and the microphone.

However, Apple also says, “It’s possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously.” In her tweet from 09:31 AM IST, October 31, 2023, Moitra writes that she, Priyanka Chaturvedi, and three other Indians have received the notification from Apple.

Priyanka, meanwhile, has shared several tweets that condemn the situation, asking whether the Home Ministry of India will investigate the issue.

At 11:06 AM IST, Shashi Tharoor took to his official Twitter account, sharing multiple screenshots of the email he received from Apple. Tharoor adds that he has verified the sender of these emails, which is “[email protected],” in an attempt to figure out whether the email is authentic or not.

At 11:38 AM IST, Raghav Chadha took to his official X account, stating that he received a “concerning notification from Apple.”

The president of the Observer Research Foundation, Samir Saran, also received a threat notification from Apple earlier today.

What do iPhone’s Threat Notifications Mean?

Per an Apple support page, threat notifications are designed “to inform and assist users who may have been targeted by state-sponsored attackers.” The iPhone maker clarifies that state-sponsored attackers apply exceptional resources to target a small number of influential or politically important individuals and their devices, often making these attacks hard to detect. 

Further, Apple clarifies that its threat notifications never ask users to click any links, open files, or install any apps. To verify whether a threat notification is genuine, users can sign in to appleid.apple.com and check whether their account reflects the same warning. 

To protect themselves from cybercriminals, users should update their iPhones to the latest available software, which includes several security fixes, protect their devices with a healthy passcode, use two-factor authentication for Apple ID, and never click on links or attachments sent from unknown sources. Users should also consider activating Lockdown Mode.

It is important to mention that state-sponsored doesn’t necessarily mean that the threat notifications have anything to do with the Government of India, as politics has already begun on social platforms. We are awaiting a response from the relevant Indian authorities, following which we’ll provide an update.

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