New Delhi: At least seven Opposition Members of Parliament said on October 31, 2023, that they received a warning from Apple that “State sponsored attackers may be targeting” their iPhones.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Trinamool Congress’ Mahua Moitra, Congress’ Pawan Khera and Shashi Tharoor, CPI(M) Sitaram Yechury, AAP’s Raghav Chadha and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi are among those who shared the alert sent by Apple on X (formerly Twitter). Ms. Moitra alleged Akhilesh Yadav has also received such warning, but the Samajwadi Party chief has not yet confirmed the same.
The novelist and newspaper editor Sriram Karri also said he received a similar email on his iPhone being targeted by state-sponsored attackers. An Apple spokesperson didn’t have an immediate comment to offer on the alerts.
“ALERT: State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone,” the message received by MPs from “threat-notifications@apple.com” said. “Apple believes you are being targeted by state- sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID. These attackers are likely targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do. If your device is compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your sensitive data, communications, or even the camera and microphone. While it’s possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously,” the message read.
Wonder who? Shame on you.
Cc: @HMOIndia for your kind attention pic.twitter.com/COUJyisRDk— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) October 30, 2023
Received from an Apple ID, threat-notifications@apple.com, which I have verified. Authenticity confirmed. Glad to keep underemployed officials busy at the expenses of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do?@PMOIndia @INCIndia @kharge @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/5zyuoFmaIa
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 31, 2023
Early this morning I received a concerning notification from Apple, warning me about a potential state-sponsored spyware attack on my phone. The notification states that, “If your device is compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your… pic.twitter.com/JrVD9Zh9im
— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) October 31, 2023
Dear Modi Sarkar, why are you doing this? pic.twitter.com/3hWmAx00ql
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) October 31, 2023
Here’s all you need to know about Apple’s two-factor authentication:
Apple sends an alert message when the person’s account is being compromised. The alert is sent to inform the user about the attempt to hack. One way to avoid hacking and compromising of the account is to activate two-factor authentication. This helps in authenticating the user when logging in into new devices.
Apple’s two-factor authentication is designed to ensure that the owner/account holder is the only person who has access to the account. It is an extra layer of security for the user’s Apple ID.
When the user signs in with the Apple ID for the first time on a new device or on the web, they will need both the password and the 6-digit verification code that is displayed on the trusted devices.
Two-factor authentication improves the security of the user’s Apple ID and the data that is stored with Apple.
