BJP cites George Soros 'link' in iPhone hacking row

At least 10 opposition leaders claimed to have received notification of "state-sponsored attacks" on their iPhones.

BJP leader Amit Malviya on November 1 attacked the Opposition's accusations regarding the iPhone hacking notification.

“Interesting thread that draws a link between George Soros-funded ‘Access Now’ and Apple notifications, supposedly received only by Opposition leaders. It is therefore no surprise that Rahul Gandhi dropped everything and rushed to hold a press conference. See the sinister plot here?” he wrote on X. He shared a thread on X that "draws a link between George Soros funded ‘Access Now’ and Apple notifications, supposedly received only by Opposition leaders”. Malviya is the national convener of the BJP's IT cell.

At least 10 opposition leaders including Mahua Moitra, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Pawan Khera, Shashi Tharoor, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, and the AAP's Raghav Chadha claimed to have received notification of "state-sponsored attacks" on their iPhones.

Malviya was responding to Congress leader P Chidamabaram’s post on X. “It is undeniable that hundreds of Opposition leaders got an alert from Apple of a state-sponsored attempt to compromise their phones. Why only Opposition leaders? Who will be interested in compromising the phones of Opposition leaders? After the Pegasus mystery (not resolved until this date), the finger of suspicion points to a government agency. At the moment it is only a suspicion,” said Chidambaram.

As the controversy gathered momentum, Apple, in a statement, said that it "does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker". It further added that "the notifications may be false alarms".

BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad told ANI, "Whom does Rahul Gandhi not question? He does not do his homework... Apple itself said that we have given this notification in 150 countries that this thing has come to our knowledge... In 150 countries, this notification was sent, so why is Rahul Gandhi worried about receiving it? If you are this worried, then you should file an FIR. Rahul Gandhi also raised his voice when the Pegasus case happened. The Supreme Court made a committee and asked people who felt that Pegasus was on their phones to submit their phones. He didn't have the courage then..."

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Centre would investigate the claims and asked Apple to provide information about the “state-sponsored attackers”. The minister said the government was concerned at the statements in the media by some MPs as well as others about a notification received by them from Apple.

“The Government of Bharat takes its role of protecting the privacy and security of all citizens very seriously and will investigate to get to the bottom of these notifications. In light of such information and widespread speculation, we have also asked Apple to join the investigation with real, accurate information on the alleged state-sponsored attacks,” Vaishnaw said on X.