Centre asks Apple for proof of 'state-sponsored attack' amid hacking row

Apple threat notification: This comes after the Centre said that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has initiated an investigation into the incident

The Centre has sent a notice to tech major Apple regarding the threat notification received by several members of Parliament (MPs), which read "state-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone", the Information Technology (IT) Secretary S Krishnan said on Thursday.

This comes after the Centre said that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has initiated an investigation into Apple threat notification. CERT-In is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur.

"CERT-In has started its probe in the Apple threat notification issue raised by opposition MPs, and a notice has been sent to the company," IT Secretary S Krishnan said on Thursday on the sidelines of an event related to the IT Ministry, as reported by PTI.

The row started on October 31, when several politicians and academicians took to X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing screenshots of the notification received on their iPhones. Those who received such notifications included Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, party leaders Shashi Tharoor, Pawan Khera, K C Venugopal, Supriya Shrinate, T S Singhdeo and Bhupinder S Hooda; Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.

In a press conference the same day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that it was the Centre's way of distracting the people from the "Adani issue". He said, "We are not scared. You can do as much phone tapping as you want, I don't care. If you want to take my phone, I will give it to you..."

Also Read: Notice sent to Apple, CERT-In has started probe: IT Secy on hacking issue

Later, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw rejected the allegations of hacking by the Centre and stated that they would conduct a thorough probe. In a post on X, he said, "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."

The same day, Apple issued a statement saying, "Since enabling the Threat Notifications feature, Apple has sent Threat Notifications to individuals whose accounts are in nearly 150 countries."

"Apple does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker. State-sponsored attackers are 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," the statement said.

It further added, "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 behaviour to evade detection in the future."

Apple also agreed to support the Centre in the probe.

(With agency inputs)