In this article, tech giants from the company Apple have warned several Indian opposition leaders and journalists that their iPhones might have been targeted by “state-sponsored attackers.” They sent an alert saying that while it would appear to be a false alarm, they should take these cyber threats seriously. The politicians who received the alert include Mahua Moitra, Asaduddin Owaisi, Shashi Tharoor, and spokespersons Pawan Khera and Supriya Shrinate. Moitra, who is a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, has been leading the opposition against the Indian Prime Minister for alleged connections to Gautam Adani, one of the richest men in Asia. In January 2023, Hindenburg Research published an article, accusing the Adani Group of being involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud for decades. The company has repeatedly denied the accusations, saying that they are “malicious.” The Security and Exchange Board of India has been investigating the allegations, but nothing solid has come through. Moitra has been accused of asking questions against the Adani Group on exchanging brides and gifts. This could be a reason why she was targeted.
I find this article to be very concerning as it is talking about cyber threats that came with the support of India itself. Whoever the hackers are, they may be trying to silence political opposition leaders who are against the current government of India. I believe these leaders should have their opinions heard and no one should take that right away from them. I am happy to hear a company from the United States is supporting these opposition leaders to fight for what is right. These leaders are making sure the country of India is aware of the amount of cyber warfare being used in the world.
In International Relations, we learned about global actors, who influence how the world works. India has a major influence on how the world is functioning today. We have also learned about human rights. It should be the right of the opposition leaders to have their opinions heard. We have also discussed foreign policy and the United States has close relations with India. We have also talked about multinational corporations and how they influence political, economic and social conditions around the world. The American technology company, Apple, is the world’s largest company with $2.71 trillion and a lot of influence on devices around the world.