Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi writes to PM Modi, Amit Shah, seeks probe into Apple alert

Priyanka Chaturvedi. File Pic

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking investigations into the alleged attempts to breach her iPhone through a targeted attack by 'state-sponsored hackers', reported news agency ANI.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader in her letter said that the hacking attempt is a violation of her fundamental rights and contrary to the laws of the country, reported ANI.

"I wish to bring to your immediate attention an alert I have received from Apple, warning me that there have been attempts to breach my phone through a targeted attack by state-sponsored hackers. I have every reason to take this matter seriously and urge you to investigate who, within the 'state,' is engaged in attempting to access my phone and monitor my activities, which is a clear abuse of their authority," Priyanka Chaturvedi said in her letter, reported ANI.

"As an iPhone user for over a decade, I have never received an urgent warning message expressing concern over an attempt to breach my Apple ID. (I have attached a copy of the received message.) As an Indian citizen, before being a Member of Parliament, I believe it is a violation of my fundamental rights and contrary to the laws of our country to engage in sophisticated hacking in an attempt to monitor my actions and movements," she added.

Earlier in the day, several opposition leaders of different political parties including Shashi Tharoor, Raghav Chadha, Mahua Moitra, Asaduddin Owaisi and others alleged that their Apple devices have been the victim of alleged hacking.

The leaders shared the screenshot of the warning received on their Apple devices.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP in her letter said that as a vocal critic of certain government activities, she is deeply troubled by these alerts warning her about a state-sponsored attack, reported ANI.

"This only reinforces my concerns that, as a member of the opposition, I am being discouraged from effectively contributing to the pursuit of accountability and transparency within our government," she said in the letter.

After several opposition leaders alleged that they had been victims of Phone hacking iPhone maker Apple issued a clarification saying "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 behaviour to evade detection in the future" Apple further said in the statement.

(With inputs from ANI)