Israeli spyware used to target activists, say reports
Vaishnaw has slammed release of ‘over-the-top’ media reports about government’s use of Israeli spyware Pegasus to spy on opposition leaders, journalists and others
WASHINGTON: An Israeli firm accused of supplying spyware to governments has been linked to a list of 50,000 smartphone numbers, including those of activists, journalists, business executives and politicians around the world, according to reports on Sunday.
Israel’s NSO Group and its Pegasus malware have been in the headlines since at least 2016.
Sunday’s revelations raise privacy and rights concerns, and reveal the far-reaching extent to which the private Israeli company’s sotware may be being misused by its clients internationally.
The extent of the use of Pegasus was reported by The Washington Post, the Guardian, Le Monde and other news outlets who collaborated on an investigation into a data leak.
The leak was of a list of more than 50,000 smartphone numbers believed to have been identified as people of interest by clients of NSO since 2016, the media outlets said.
The Post said the list was shared with the news organisations by Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based journalism nonprofit, and Amnesty International.
The newspaper said the total number of phones on the list that were actually targeted or surveilled is unknown.
The Post said 15,000 of the numbers on the list were in Mexico and included those of politicians, union representatives, journalists and government critics. The list reportedly included the number of a Mexican freelance journalist who was murdered at a carwash.
His phone was never found, and it was not clear if it had been hacked.
Indian investigative news website The Wire reported that 300 mobile phone numbers used in India - including those of government ministers, opposition politicians, journalists, scientists and rights activists - were on the list.
The numbers included those of more than 40 Indian journalists from major publications such as the Hindustan Times, The Hindu and the Indian Express, as well as two founding editors of The Wire, it said.
The Indian government denied in 2019 that it had used the malware to spy on its citizens ater Whatsapp filed a lawsuit in the United States against NSO, accusing it of using the messaging plaform to conduct cyber espionage.
Among the numbers on the list are those of journalists for Agence France-presse, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, France 24, Radio Free Europe, Mediapart, El Pais, the Associated Press, Le Monde, Bloomberg, The Economist, Reuters and Voice of America, the Guardian said.
IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has slammed the release of “over-the-top” media reports about the government’s use of Israeli spyware Pegasus to spy on opposition leaders, journalists and others, including its own ministers and a siting judge of the Supreme Court, and said it “can’t be a coincidence” that they were published a day before the opening of Parliament’s monsoon session.
Vaishnaw said by logic, the website only tried to create sensation through baseless news reports.
If the members pay proper atention to the news, then they themselves will understand this, he said.
Addressing the Lok Sabha on a day punctuated by fierce protests from the opposition, Vaishnaw insisted there was “no substance behind this sensational” claim and that “checks and balances” ensured that illegal surveillance is “not possible.”
“A highly sensational story was published by a web portal last night. Many over-the-top allegations (were) made around this story. The press reports appeared a day before (the) monsoon session of Parliament. This can’t be a coincidence,” Vaishnaw said.
“In the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on Whatsapp. Those reports had no factual basis and were denied by all parties. Press reports of 18 July also appear to be an atempt to malign Indian democracy and its well-established institutions,” he added.
These reports are an atempt to malign Indian democracy, Vaishnaw declared.
On Sunday, The Wire and other publications reported that phone numbers of opposition leaders, journalists and others were found on a database of targets to be hacked.
The numbers of those listed include over 40 journalists, three major opposition figures, a constitutional authority and two serving ministers in the Modi government, as well as current and former heads of security organisations, The Wire alleged.
The government has hit back strongly and has insisted there is no concrete basis to these claims. Yesterday, a source in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology told NDTV the government had “nothing to fear and nothing to hide.”
“We will reply to any query. The news article proves nothing. In fact, previous atempts to link
Pegasus with the government have failed,” the source said. Israeli company NSO Group, which sells Pegasus, has denied the allegations and claimed it only offers its product to “veted governments.”
The company is “considering a defamation lawsuit”.
These allegations come two years ater Whatsapp filed a lawsuit in a US court, accusing the NSO Group of helping government spies hack the phones of 1,400 users, including Indian journalists and activists.
Whatsapp chief Will Carter tweeted links to foreign publications’ report on Pegasus and said: “Human rights defenders, tech companies and governments must work together to increase security and hold abusers of spyware accountable...”
On the first day of Parliament’s monsoon session, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood up to introduce the new ministers inducted into the cabinet ater the recent reshuffle, the opposition began raising slogans on the rising prices of fuel.
The opposition’s sloganeering continued while speaker Om Birla appealed for silence and to let “customary” introduction of the ministers take place.
The Prime Minister said that instead of a hue and cry, he had expected that the ministers would be honoured with claps.
“But it seems that Dalits, women… OBCS of the country becoming ministers does not go down well with many people siting here in Parliament, and that is why they are not even allowing their introduction...” Modi said, adding that these newly inducted ministers be considered “introduced.”
Following this, Birla continued with his appeals to the opposition to let the Prime Minister speak, but to no avail. He then requested the PM to put the introductory document on the union ministers and ministers of state on the table.
Meanwhile, Congress deputy leader and MP from Assam’s Kaliabor constituency Gaurav Gogoi said that the Prime Minister prioritised the cabinet reshuffle over the problems faced by Indians.
“The PM believes that his decision to reshuffle the Cabinet is more important than the economic burden he has imposed on the millions of the Indian citizens,” Gogoi said, adding, “The Congress stands with the people of India.”