(New Delhi) The Indian government recently targeted high-profile journalists with Pegasus spyware, Amnesty International and the Washington Postin a joint investigation released Thursday.
Published yesterday at 9.28pm
“Journalists in India are increasingly facing the threat of illegal surveillance simply for doing their jobs, as well as other tools of repression, such as imprisonment under draconian laws, smear campaigns, harassment and intimidation,” he said Donncha O Cearbhaill, Head of Security at Amnesty. Laboratory.
The report discusses the cases of journalists Siddharth Varadarajan (The Wire) and Anand Mangnale (The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project), whose analysis of iPhones revealed traces of Pegasus’ presence.
The attack dates back to October 2023 for Siddharth Varadarajan, who according to the NGO had already been targeted by the spyware in 2018.
The Indian government did not immediately react, but New Delhi had denied allegations made in 2021 that it used Pegasus to monitor political opponents, activists and journalists.
In 2021, 17 international media outlets revealed that Pegasus software, designed by the Israeli company NSO, had been used to spy on the phones of hundreds of politicians, journalists, human rights activists and business leaders around the world.
Last month, Indian media reported that the country’s cybersecurity services were investigating allegations of wiretapping by opposition politicians, who had received a warning message from Apple about “state-sponsored attackers.”
Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister responsible for electronics and information technology, said at the time that the government was “concerned” about these complaints.
2023-12-28 02:28:06
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