JAKARTA – Last October, Apple warned independent journalists and opposition politicians in India that hackers were trying to access their iPhones.
This warning received a lot of attention because more than 20 people who received warnings from Apple were people who often publicly criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani, Modi's longtime ally.
This allegation of government hacking was bolstered by an alert received by Anand Mangnale and Ravi Nair of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an alliance of dozens of independent investigative media outlets from around the world .
Following a warning from Apple, Mangnale submitted his phone to forensic analysis and the results were shared by Amnesty International with the Washington Post. From the scan results, it was found that hackers were trying to infiltrate Mangnale's iPhone.
In fact, the hacker implanted Pegasus, spyware developed by the Israeli company NSO Group. This spyware is only sold to the government, so this discovery reinforces suspicions that the Indian government is trying to hack the phones of journalists and the opposition.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that a day after Apple's hacking alert, senior officials in the Modi government immediately contacted the tech major's representatives.
From undisclosed sources, it is known that the Indian government is pressuring Apple to soften the political impact of the warning issued by the company. However, it was not explained what action Apple should take.
Apart from this, the government has also summoned Apple security experts directly from abroad to bring them to New Delhi. They asked the expert to provide an alternative explanation regarding the warning issued.
From these efforts, it appears that the government does not like the protection efforts carried out by Apple. However, it is not yet clear whether the government actually used Pegasus to hack the cell phones of journalists and the country's opposition.
Tag: Apple India Hack Reporter Tech Reporter
