Pegasus spyware used to ‘snoop’ on Indian journalists, activists

WHY IN NEWS?

According to a report, Pegasus spyware may have been used to conduct surveillance on about 300 Indians including two Cabinet ministers’ three opposition leaders, a Constitutional authority, government officials, scientists and about 40 journalists.

ABOUT:

• It is a spyware created by NSO Group, an Israeli cybersecurity firm founded in 2010.
• Pegasus spyware can hack any iOS or Android device and steal a variety of data from the infected device.
• It works by sending an exploit link and if the target user clicks on the link, the malware or the code that allows the surveillance is installed on the user’s phone.
• Once Pegasus is installed, the attacker has complete access to the target user’s phone.