29 phones tested for Pegasus spyware: Supreme Court
The controversial Israeli Pegasus spyware was not detected in 29 mobile phones examined, the panel said in its report submitted to the Supreme Court. A panel appointed by the watchdog said that 5 of the 29 mobile phones examined may have been infected with some kind of malware, but did not specify whether it was Pegas.
A panel headed by former Supreme Court judge RV Raveendran submitted its report to the Supreme Court last month. It arose out of allegations that spyware was used to target nearly 300 Indians, including politicians, government officials, journalists and people from other walks of life.
Spyware Pegasus used to spy on ministers, opposition, journalists, businessmen: Report Spyware Pegasus, sold by NSO Group of Israel, may have been used to spy on about 300 Indians, including two serving Cabinet ministers at the Centre, three opposition leaders, a constitutional body, Govt.
officials, scientists and more than 40 journalists. The report consists of three parts – digital photographs of phones checked for spyware infection, a technical committee report and a report by supervising member Justice Raveendran.
The report also states that there are some malware that can be exploited to ensure security as well as violate the privacy of citizens. It suggests steps to prevent the abuse of tracking malware.
She recommended that the country’s cyber security needs to improve while protecting the right to privacy to prevent unauthorized surveillance.
She said there should be a special investigative agency to investigate cyber attacks and strengthen the country’s cyber security network.
He also said that private companies that resort to illegal surveillance should be prosecuted. In its observation, the commission said the government is not fully cooperating in checking phones for malware. However, the details of the report may not be made public.
