Again this topic in news and now New York Times published an article detailing how Pegasus, spyware expanded by Israel-based NSO Group, has been used as a tool to firm up Israel’s interests across the globe.

In this article, the journalists also argue that Pegasus was part of a $2-billion “package of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear” transaction between India and Israel after Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. The article claims that it was after this deal that India altered its historically pro-Palestine viewpoint and voted in Israel’s favor in 2019 “at the U.N.’s Economic and Social Council to deny observer status to a Palestinian human rights organization.

What is Pegasus spyware?

The Pegasus Spyware, created by the Israeli cyber intelligence firm NSO Group, is also constructed to hack the computers or mobile devices to gain access to the device and obtain the data from it without the user’s permission and then deliver it to the third party who is spying on you.

However, the parent organization of this Pegasus Spyware claims that it is intended to help government authorities to be used against terrorists and criminals by spying on them.

Pegasus Spyware has first identified around 4-5 years ago when a human rights activist from the United Arab Emirates received a text message that was a phishing setup. He sent these messages to the security agency and it was found out that if he (the user) had opened those links – his phone would have been infected with the malware, named Pegasus.

Recently, a database of around 50,000 phone numbers that may have been targeted for supervision using Pegasus, was leaked to several standard investigative media platforms. And most importantly, among these 50,000 contacts, the Pegasus Project (a general name given to this investigative report) found that there are hundreds of public officials contacts also.

However, the availability of any number in this database doesn’t compulsorily mean that the respective device was successfully penetrated – and various cyber investigation mechanisms are currently going on for the same.

what is Spyware? Spyware is some sort of malicious software that is usually installed in your computer or mobile device, even without your consent, to damage your system or steal sensitive data.

And once the Pegasus gets into your smartphone, now your text messages & emails, contacts, photos, passwords, etc. can be accessed by the other party.

The access is given to such an extent that even your device mic or camera can also be operated by the one who’s is spying on you very conveniently. The Pegasus Spyware can even access the end-to-end encrypted messages or files as it can now steal them before the encryption or after the decryption.

Pegasus in India?

Reports that appeared in July 2021 from the Pegasus Project, which includes The Wire in India, The Guardian in the U.K., and The Washington Post in the U.S., said that in India, at least 40 journalists, Cabinet Ministers, and holders of constitutional positions were probably subjected to supervision using Pegasus. The reports were based on a database of about 50,000 phone numbers accessed by the Paris-based non-profit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International.

These numbers were reported of interest to clients of the NSO Group, primarily from 10 countries. According to The Guardian, Amnesty International’s Security Lab tested 67 of the phones linked to the Indian numbers in the database and found that “23 were successfully infected and 14 showed signs of attempted penetration”.

Since Pegasus is graded as a cyberweapon and can be sold only to authorized government entities as per Israeli law, most reports have suggested that the governments in these countries are the clients.

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