People who are said to have been targeted by this spyware include Shashi Tharoor, Mahua Moitra, and more.
Along with these politicians, Apple sent the alert to some journalists and researchers as well.
Apple mentioned that these state-sponsored attackers could target users on their identity or professional activity.
Today, some of the top Indian leaders received a weird message from Apple. The message was an alert that warned them about a “State-Sponsored Attack” on their iPhones. It wasn’t just politicians who got these messages but some journalists have received the same alert also. These alerts have created a buzz on the internet as the targeted leaders took this issue to X (formerly Twitter).
People who are said to have been targeted by this spyware include Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Shashi Tharoor, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, and more. Here’s the list of all the politicians and journalists who are said to have been targeted by spyware.
Also read: Apple plans to go big with its search engine ‘Pegasus’: Report
List of targeted public figures
According to The Quint, these are some of the top politicians, journalists, and researchers who have received the alert from Apple.
- Shashi Tharoor (Congress MP)
- Pawan Khera (Congress Spokesperson)
- Supriya Shrinate (Congress Social Media Head)
- Raghav Chadha (AAP Member)
- Asaduddin Owaisi (Chief of AIMIM)
- Mahua Moitra (Trinamool Congress MP)
- Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena MP)
- Sitaram Yechury (Chief of Marxist)
Along with these politicians, Apple sent the alert to some journalists and researchers as well. Two of them are:
- Siddharth Vardarajan (Founding Editor of The Wire)
- Samir Saran (President of Observer Research Foundation)
Also read: Bluebugging Explained: How are Bluetooth devices being hacked?
Apple Alert
Trinamool Congress MP, Mahua Moitra shared a screenshot of the alert on X. It said, “Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID.”
Who are state-sponsored attackers?
On a support page, Apple mentioned that these state-sponsored attackers could target users on their identity or professional activity. It says, “Unlike traditional cybercriminals, state-sponsored attackers apply exceptional resources to target a very small number of specific individuals and their devices, which makes these attacks much harder to detect and prevent. State-sponsored attacks are highly complex, cost millions of dollars to develop and often have a short shelf life. The vast majority of users will never be targeted by such attacks.”
Follow Us
Mustafa Khan
Mustafa is new on the block and is a tech geek who is currently working with Digit as a News Writer. He tests the new gadgets that come on board and writes for the news desk. He has found his way with words and you can count on him when in need of tech advice. No judgement. He is based out of Delhi, he’s your person for good photos, good food recommendations, and to know about anything GenZ. View Full Profile
