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BIG STORY JULY 23, 2021 | The Indian Eye 4

pegasus software

Who is SPYING?

reports reveal that the israeli snooping tool was used to spy on top journalists,

the Dalai Lama’s staff, anil ambani, opposition leaders and even a member of judiciary.

the government has denied all allegations of surveillance. so, who is behind this illegal activity?

Our Bureau use of Pegasus on WhatsApp,

New Delhi adding that the report was an
attempt to malign Indian de-
n a shocking and hugely sen- mocracy and its well-established
sations revelation on Thurs- institutions.
Iday, it was revealed that In its statements, the NSO
closest advisers to the Tibetan Group has disputed this list,
spiritual leader Dalai Lama and saying it has no relevance to the
members of his staff were po- company or its military-grade
tential targets of NSO’s Pega- spyware product Pegasus. Fo-
sus, according to media houses rensic analysis conducted by
who are part of the global col- Amnesty International’s Securi-
laborative project investigating ty Lab for over 60 phones on this
the database of numbers that list – which primarily includes
may have been targeted by the numbers clustered in countries
spyware said on Thursday. At that experts say have had an ac-
least 300 persons in India and as tive Pegasus operator in the past
many as 50,000 worldwide have Congress supporters wear cutouts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, – found traces of the spyware on
been identified by the global Union Ministers Amit Shah, and Smriti Irani during a protest against over half, while the results of a
collaborative investigative proj- the state government over the issue of Pegasus snooping, majority of other cases were in-
ect as targets of the surveillance. in Bengaluru on Thursday. (ANI) conclusive on account of them
A report by The Wire, a dig- being Android devices.
ital news platform from India, conspiracy” to malign the coun- clude corporate communica- Now, the main Opposition
which is part of the collabora- try. tions chief Tony Jesudasan, as parties have ramped up protests
tion, stated that phone numbers It has also been reported well as Jesudasan’s wife. against the alleged snooping, ac-
of several Tibetan officials, ac- by The Wire that hours after The names of over 40 Indian cusing the government of turn-
tivists and clerics were found in Prime Minister Narendra Modi journalists and politicians ap- ing India into a “surveillance
the database, starting from the acted to oust Alok Verma from peared on the leaked list of po- state.” The protests have led to
late 2017 to early 2019. How- his post as head of the Cen- tential targets for surveillance the adjournment of Parliament
ever, the presence of a phone tral Bureau of Investigation at by an unidentified agency using amid the monsoon session mul-
number in the database is not midnight on October 23, 2018, Pegasus spyware, according to tiple times. Since the case came
evidence of surveillance, which an unidentified Indian agency the report. to light through a report by The
can be only confirmed after a known to be a user of Pegasus According to the report, the Wire on Sunday, several oppo-
forensic analysis of the corre- spyware made a note of three journalists who were targeted sition leaders have demanded
sponding device. telephone numbers registered work for some news organisa- an independent probe into the
Earlier, reports have stated in his name. tions in the country including matter.
that two serving ministers in the The Wire has also confirmed Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Slamming the BJP-led Cen-
Narendra Modi government, that phone numbers that have India Today, Indian Express and tral government over the ongo-
three Opposition leaders, one been used by Anil Ambani and Network18. Many of them cov- ing Pegasus controversy, West
constitutional authority, sever- one other official of the Reli- er matters related to Defence, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
al journalists, and business per- ance ADA Group were added Home Ministry, Election Com- Banerjee on Wednesday pitched
sons, were potentially targeted to the leaked list that was ana- mission and Kashmir among for Opposition unity against the
by the Israeli company NSO’s lysed by media partners of the others. ‘threat to democracy’ in the
Pegasus spyware. However, the Pegasus Project consortium. However, Union IT Minister ‘surveillance state’.
Indian government has main- Apart from Ambani, the Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday Speaking during the virtual
tained that the media reports other company official whose said there is ‘no substance’ in address on the occasion of Mar-
are part of an “international numbers appear on the list in- the media report regarding the Continued on next page... >>

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