Former Telangana civil servant Akunuri Murali, who is critical of both the State government and the Centre, on Wednesday said that he received a threat alert from Apple informing him that the company believes he is a target of “State-sponsored attackers”.
Mr. Murali, who is the convener of Social Democratic Forum, said that he received a message from “threat-notification@apple.com”. The message from Apple states that these “State-sponsored attackers” are “remotely trying to compromise the iPhone” associated with his email account.
“These attackers are likely targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do. If your device is compromised by a State-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your sensitive data, communications, or even the camera and microphone. While it’s possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously,” the message reads.
The message described these “State-sponsored attackers” as well-funded and sophisticated, and some do not require interaction with the target.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Murali said that he received the message on Wednesday morning, and underscored that he suspects the governments of targeting him on account of his vociferous criticism of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Bharatiya Janata Party’s policies.
“I strongly suspect that the governments are behind this. This is because I am questioning the corrupt practices of the BRS and BJP governments. The improper governance, not providing proper quality education of Telangana government, and violation of rights of minorities by the Government of India - such as in Manipur - could be the reasons,” he said, adding that he is aware of two other people from Telangana who have received similar messages. “I inquired with a some people, and two of them said that they too have received such a message.”
Mr Murali said that despite being a “target” as informed by Apple, he will continue to raise his voice on issues he is working on. As of now, it is unclear as to which agency initiated the “attack”, as claimed by Apple, on Mr Murali’s phone.
This is not the first time those from Telangana have been allegedly targeted. In 2019, when the NSO issue surfaced, Hyderabad-based activist and lawyer Balla Raveendranath said he was contacted by Citizen Labs, and WhatsApp, informing him that his phone was compromised.
