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Apple is now facing an issue in India after several political figures received notifications about possible hacking activity on their devices. The company said, however, that they “may be false alarms,” putting it in the position to clarify why such alerts are being sent. Now, the iPhone maker is considering sending threat executives to intervene.
The issue pushed the Indian government, which is being accused of espionage, to ask the Cupertino company for some explanations about the alerts. However, in its earlier statement, it shared that it couldn’t share the exact details or causes for the alert triggers as it could give the hackers a hint on how to evade Apple’s security measures. Sources of the Times of India, nonetheless, revealed that hacking alerts are tagged “state-sponsored” when there are “specific attempts” at the activity.
“While it is too early to spell out the specific reasons, one of the criteria that is broadly used to classify any hacking incident as being a state-sponsored attack is when the level of attempted break-in is highly sophisticated, which can only be carried out only by certain specialised agencies that only work with governments … we have clear reasons to mark them as such in our alerts,” sources explained.
Despite refusing to share the specific triggers of the alerts, the company is determined to appease the government of India, with sources sharing that the giant is considering sending some of its privacy and security experts to help explain in a “broader perspective” why the alerts are being sent.
“We are assessing the situation and are in constant touch with our headquarters, considering the urgency on the matter and seriousness around it,” a source told the outlet. “If the need be, we will involve the teams who are tasked with privacy and device security matters for a broader perspective on why certain specific alerts are issued.”
This is not the first time reports of espionage were reported in the country. Currently, accusations of India using the Pegasus spyware continue, and the government still hasn’t admitted it. Traces of the spyware, nonetheless, were spotted in the devices of different influential individuals in the country in the past.
