Shashi Tharoor, Mahua Moitra claim 'state-sponsored' hack attempt of iPhones; Apple issues clarification

Besides Tharoor and Moitra, three other Opposition I.N.D.I.A members too received similar alerts from Apple.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and Trinamool Congress MP Mahu Moitra have received alerts from Apple that their iPhones faced a possible state-sponsored hacking attempt.

The company sent the alerts through an SMS and email to both the members of the Parliament and urged them to upgrade to the latest iOS 17.1 update, as it contains several security patches that plug security loopholes that may allow threat actors to over the iPhone.

Also, they have asked to turn on the Lockdown Mode to fortify the iPhone from all possible threats.

Besides Tharoor and Moitra, three other Opposition I.N.D.I Alliance members -- Priyanka Chaturvedi (Rajya Sabha MP, Shiv Sena), Asaduddin Owaisi (Lok Sabha MP, AIMIM) , Raghav Chadha (Rajya Sabha MP, AAP) and INC spokespersons --Pawan Khera and Supriya Shrinate too, have received similar alerts from Apple last night.

However, it should be noted that there is no specific information on who or which organisation or government made an attempt to hack the devices of the aforementioned people.

"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. 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 behavior to evade detection in the future.”

Apple

Late 2021, Apple sends similar alert messages to people at risk of getting hacked, in around 150 nations.

After the Pegasus spyware scandal broke out in 2021, Apple has since then, if it notices any threats or attempts to hack iPhones or iPads or Macs, it nofities the person via email and SMS and also posts banner on iCloud account.

Apple's threat alert feature covers 150 nations around the world.

Later in the following year, Apple introduced Lockdown Mode with the iOS 16 in the following year.

With Lockdown mode on, most of the message attachment types other than images are blocked. Some features, even the link previews, are also disabled.

Certain websites with just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation, are disabled on iPhone unless the user excludes a trusted site from Lockdown Mode.

Also, all wired connections will be blocked to transfer any data from the iPhone.

And, unknown numbers will be barred from calling the user. Only the person who is in the contact list are allowed to call.

Here's how to turn on Lockdown mode on your Apple iPhone/iPad:

Step 1: Open the Settings app.

Step 2: Tap Privacy & Security.

Step 3: Scroll down, tap Lockdown Mode, then select Turn On Lockdown Mode.

Step 4: Then, tap Turn On Lockdown Mode.

Step 5: Tap Turn On & Restart, then enter your device passcode.

For the uninitiated, Pegasus spyware is developed by Israel-based NSO Group and used by several government-run agencies and private espionage mercenaries around the world, to target high-value targets such as investigative journalists, human rights activists, and opposition political party members.

Once infected, Pegasus can record any conversation made in the vicinity via the microphone or the cameras of the user's iPhone.

The live GPS location can be tracked at all times and the spyware uses keystroke logging (recording keystrokes) to keep a log of any text message or email typed out after the infection. It can record phone calls, personal information such as passwords, contacts, and even personally identifiable biometric information as well.

New variants of Pegasus are also capable of accessing data from user account-linked cloud storage and can even override two-factor authentication.

However, with Lockdown Mode, the spyware will not be able to access anything on iPhones or iPads, or Macs.

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