Amnesty International and The Washington Post have reported that India’s government targeted high-profile journalists using the Pegasus spyware, developed by Israeli firm NSO Group and sold to governments globally. The Pegasus software enables unauthorized access to a phone’s messages, emails, photos, call eavesdropping, location tracking, and even camera recording.
According to Amnesty, journalists Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire and Anand Mangnale of The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project have allegedly been subjected to the spyware on their iPhones, with the latest identified case occurring in October. Donncha O Cearbhaill, Head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab, expressed concern, stating, “Our latest findings show that increasingly, journalists in India face the threat of unlawful surveillance simply for doing their jobs.”
“A day after Apple warned independent Indian journalists and opposition party politicians in October that government hackers may have tried to break into their iPhones, officials under Prime Minister Narendra Modi promptly took action — against Apple.” https://t.co/Zig8XLLP5T
— Siddharth (@svaradarajan) December 28, 2023
India’s government has not yet responded to these specific allegations. However, it had previously denied similar accusations in 2021, rejecting claims that it employed Pegasus spyware to surveil political opponents, activists, and journalists. Last month, Indian media reported that the country’s cybersecurity unit was investigating allegations of attempted phone tapping following complaints from opposition politicians who received Apple iPhone warnings of “state-sponsored attackers.” Information and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed the government’s concern about these complaints.