Such actions send troubling message to world about bid to silence opposition: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP on Apple alert

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Tuesday raised concerns after receiving a warning from Apple of "state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise" her iPhone and said such actions send troubling messages to the world about the government trying to silence opposition. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chaturvedi also sought prompt action into the matter.

She said if the warning on her Apple phone is true, then it raises questions about agencies being directed towards the opposition instead of those who pose a threat to the nation.

At least four leaders from the Opposition on Tuesday claimed to have received messages from Apple warning them of "state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise" their iPhones and posted the purported screenshots on their X handles.


Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress' Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor and his party's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera shared the screenshots on X.

"As the cradle of democracy, our actions send a troubling message to the world when our own government, instead of upholding the principles of a robust democratic framework, resorts to silencing of opposition," Chaturvedi said in her letter.

She said in case of cyber attacks and fraud, one can seek assistance from the cyber crime cell to investigate and bring culprits to justice.

"However, in this case, what recourse do we have in the state, which is supposed to protect our rights, is the one engaging in the attack?" she asked.

This reflects how rattled the Centre is that such kind of surveillance is happening on opposition members, Chaturvedi told PTI.

She said the Centre may use various ways to silence the opposition members, but they will continue to raise questions about its functioning.

The government has ordered an investigation after Opposition MPs claimed that they received warnings of attempts being made by state-sponsored attackers to steal information from their iPhones.

iPhone-maker Apple Inc on Tuesday said it does not attribute threat notifications, such as the ones received by some MPs belonging to Opposition parties, to any specific state-sponsored attackers and that it cannot provide information on what causes such warnings.