KC Venugopal accuses Modi govt of targeting his phone with 'malicious spyware'
New Delhi, Jul 13: Congress general secretary K C Venugopal on Saturday accused the Modi government of targeting his phone with a "malicious spyware" and asserted that "we will oppose this blatantly unconstitutional act" and breach of privacy.
Venugopal shared the screenshot of a message purportedly from Apple which said that "you are being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID".
In a post on X, Venugopal said, "Thank you PM Modi ji for sending your favourite malicious spyware on my phone also! Apple has been kind enough to intimate me about this special present of yours!"
"Let's be clear, the Modi government is acting in a criminal and unconstitutional manner, going after political opponents and invading their privacy in this manner," the Congress general secretary, in-charge organisation, said.
The message of the Lok Sabha elections was that the people reject any attack on the Constitution and the "BJP's fascist agenda", he said.
"We will oppose this blatantly unconstitutional act and breach of our privacy tooth and nail," Venugopal said.
The message purportedly from Apple, whose screenshot Venugopal shared, stated that Apple had previously sent him a notification on October 30, 2023 but this was not a repeat notice and was to inform him that another attack against his device had been detected.
"Apple detected that you are being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID'¦This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do. Although it's never possible to achieve absolute certainty when detecting such attacks, Apple has high confidence in this warning ' please take it seriously," the message read.
"These attacks cost millions of dollars and are individually deployed against a very small number of people, but the targeting is ongoing and global. Since 2021, we have sent Apple threat notifications like this one multiple times a year as we detect mercenary spyware attacks," it said.
"Today's notification is being sent to targeted users in 98 countries, and to date we have notified users in over 150 countries in total," it further said.
Thank you PM Modi ji for sending your favourite malicious spyware on my phone also!
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) July 13, 2024
Apple has been kind enough to intimate me about this special present of yours!
Let’s be clear, the Modi government is acting in a criminal and unconstitutional manner, going after political… pic.twitter.com/VrwF9TGdek
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Vistara in-flight experience will continue post-merger, says Air India
New Delhi (PTI): Air India on Friday said Vistara routes and schedule as well as the in-flight experience will continue and the flights operated with Vistara planes will have the code 'AI2' post-merger.
The merger of the two full service carriers is scheduled to be completed on November 12, following which Singapore Airlines will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India.
Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines.
Post the merger, the vintage 'Maharaja' will be retained through the frequent flyer programme of the integrated entity.
"The existing members of Club Vistara will be seamlessly transferred to Air India's Flying Returns program. With this merger, Flying Returns will also evolve into an all-new avatar 'Maharaja Club'," Air India said in the statement.
Reiterating that the experience offered by Vistara will continue for customers post-merger, Air India said Vistara will be identified by a special four-digit Air India code beginning with the digit '2'.
"For instance, UK 955 will become AI 2955 helping customers identify them while booking... after November 12," the statement said.
Further, it said the routes and schedule operated by Vistara aircraft will continue to be the same, alongside the airline's in-flight experience that includes the product and service such as menu and cutlery on the Vistara aircraft.
There are concerns in certain quarters on whether Vistara passengers will continue to get the same services like now, post-merger as Air India, which is in the transformation phase, has been facing certain service issues in recent times.
Air India, on October 2, also said that Vistara experience will remain post-merger.
On Wednesday, Vistara Chairman Bhaskar Bhat said the integrated entity will share the best practices of the two airlines and the livery of Vistara will stay for sometime.
The Air India-Vistara merger, announced in November 2022, will also see Singapore Airlines acquiring a 25.1 per cent stake in the merged entity.
