Amnesty International and The Washington Post have jointly reported that the Indian government has allegedly used Pegasus spyware to target high-profile journalists.
Pegasus, developed by the Israeli NSO Group, is a sophisticated software capable of accessing a wide range of data on the phone, including messages, emails, photos, and even enabling remote camera activation.
The investigation specifically names Siddharth Varadarajan from The Wire and Anand Mangnale of The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project as victims. These journalists reportedly had Pegasus spyware installed on their iPhones, with incidents as recent as October.
The situation underscores a growing concern for journalists in India, who, according to Donncha O Cearbhaill of Amnesty International’s Security Lab, face increasing threats of unlawful surveillance.
The Indian government has not yet responded to these latest allegations. However, it denied similar claims in 2021 regarding using Pegasus to surveil political opponents, activists, and journalists.
Last month, Indian media highlighted investigations by the country’s cyber security unit into allegations of phone tapping attempts on opposition politicians sparked by iPhone warnings about “state-sponsored attackers.” The Information and Technology Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, acknowledged the government’s concern over these complaints.
