Pegasus spyware used to snoop on journalists, politicians in India: Report

New Delhi, July 18: Pegasus, an Israeli-made spyware was used to snoop on prominent journalists, opposition leaders, government officials and rights activists, reported The Wire on Sunday.

According to The Wire, 300 verified Indian mobile telephone numbers, including, journalists, policitians, opposition leaders and activists was targeted. Also, forensic tests conducted on some phones associated with the target numbers revealed clear signs of targeting by Pegasus spyware.

The leaked data report includes journalists from big media houses like the Hindustan Times, including executive editor Shishir Gupta, India Today, Network18, The Hindu and Indian Express'.

Among the numbers is one that was registered in the name of a sitting Supreme Court judge, the website said, adding it was yet to verify if the judge was still using the number.

The Wire report shows that most of the names were targeted between 2018 and 2019, in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections.

Pegasus was in the news in 2019 when Facebook-owned WhatsApp said Indian journalists and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using an Israeli spyware Peagasus.

An Israeli surveillance firm, that is reportedly behind the technology that helped unnamed entities' spies hack into phones of roughly 1,400 users spanning across four continents and included diplomats, political dissidents, journalists and senior government officials.

However, it did not say on whose behest the phones of journalists and activists across the world were targeted.

What is Pegasus?

Developed by NSO Group, an Israeli firm, Pegasus is spyware that can read text messages, track calls, collect passwords, trace location and access video camera of devices running certain versions of iOS, Apple's mobile operating system.

How does Pegasus work?

It sends out "exploit links" that tempt users to click on it. Once a user clicks on the link, the malware can penetrate a phone's security features, and Pegasus gets installed on the device without the owner's knowledge or permission.