‘If you want my phone, I will give it to you…’: Rahul Gandhi on ‘state-sponsored’ attacks on MPs’ iPhones

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lashed out on the BJP government after multiple Opposition MPs shared on social media that they received an Apple alert warning them of “state-sponsored” attackers targeting their iPhones. 

“Kam log hai jo iske khilaaf lad rahe hai…magar hum darne wale nahin hai…hum ladne wale log hai, hum peeche nahin hatenge. Jitni tapping karni hai karlo…koi phark nahin padta…mujhe toh koi phark nahin padta. Agar aapko mera phone chahiye toh mai de deta hoon…aap utha ke le lo…(very few people are fighting against this…but we are not scared…we are fighters, we won’t back down. Tap as much as you want…it does not matter. It does not matter to me. If you want my phone, I will give it to you…you can take it),” said Rahul Gandhi in a press conference. 

Rahul Gandhi, further reacting to the snooping on MPs' phones, stated, “Our job as Opposition is to make people understand what is going on. And I am happy that more and more people are understanding what is going on here. And this is clearly a sign of panic. This is not just one person, this is the whole Opposition. This is not done by somebody who is not scared, this is not done by somebody who is honest or who believes in themselves. This is the work of criminals, of thieves. Only thieves and criminals would want to do this.”

Multiple Opposition MPs, on Tuesday, took to social media to share screenshots of Apple alerts that warned them of ‘state-sponsored’ attacks. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Shiv Sena UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, AAP leader Raghav Chadha, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress member Pawan Khera all shared the Apple alert on X, formerly Twitter. 

Meanwhile, Apple has clarified that it 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 behavior to evade detection in the future,” said Apple. 

Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and urged them to investigate who “within the state” is attempting to access her phone and monitor her activities. She said it is a “clear abuse of their authority”. “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,” she said, adding that it is a violation of her fundamental right.

Also read: Apple sent alerts on state-sponsored attackers targeting phone, allege Mahua Moitra, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Shashi Tharoor, others

Also read: Apple’s ‘State-Sponsored Attackers’ alert explained: What are these alerts and what should targeted users do?

Also read: Apple’s ‘State-Sponsored Attackers’ Alert: Company responds to claims of cyberattacks on Mahua Moitra, Shashi Tharoor, others