Amnesty claims India is using spyware to target prominent journalists.
According to a joint investigation by Amnesty International and The Washington Post, high-profile journalists in India have been recently subjected to surveillance using Pegasus spyware by the government.
Pegasus software, created by Israel’s NSO Group and sold to governments around the world, can be used to access phone messages and emails, browse photos, eavesdrop on phone calls, track locations and even film the owner with a camera.
According to Amnesty, The Wire’s reporters Siddharth Varadarajan and The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project’s Anand Mangnale were targeted by spyware on their iPhones, with the most recent incident occurring in October.
“Our latest findings show that journalists in India are increasingly facing illegal surveillance simply because of their work, as well as other means of repression, including imprisonment under harsh laws, smear campaigns, harassment and intimidation,” said director Donncha O Cearbhaill. Amnesty International Security Laboratory.
The Indian government did not immediately respond, but it denied similar allegations in 2021 that it had used Pegasus spyware to monitor political opponents, activists and journalists.
Indian media reported last month that the country’s cyber-security unit was investigating allegations by opposition politicians of a phone-tapping attempt after receiving warnings from Apple’s iPhone about “state-sponsored attackers”.
In that case, Information and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government was “concerned” by the complaints.
