NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A group of Indians including journalists
and lawyers whose phones were hacked via Facebook’s WhatsApp
messaging platform asked the government on Friday to make public
its ties with the Israeli firm accused of deploying the
spyware.
WhatsApp last week sued Israel’s NSO Group, accusing it of
helping clients break into the phones of roughly 1,400 users –
including diplomats, political dissidents, journalists, military
and government officials – across four continents.
NSO denied the allegations and said it sells technology to
governments to counter terrorism. India is WhatsApp’s biggest
market with 400 million users.
The group of 19 affected Indian users said in an open letter
that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government must explain whether
it had mounted the surveillance on them.
“It is a matter of public concern whether Indian tax payer money
has been spent on this kind of cyber surveillance…,” the Indian
group, comprising journalists, lawyers, academics, writers and
social activists, said in the letter.
Of those allegedly affected by NSO’s Pegasus spyware, 121 are
based in India, two sources familiar with the matter said.
According to WhatsApp, Pegasus exploited a loophole in its video
calling feature, using it as a door to break in to a users’ device.
Once in, it got unfettered access to the phone’s data, and even its
microphone and camera.
The group of Indian users said that the spyware had compromised
not just their safety but also the security of their friends,
family, clients and sources.
“We seek an answer from the Government of India about whether it
was aware of any contract between any of its various ministries,
departments, agencies, or any State Government, and the NSO Group
or any of its contractors to deploy Pegasus or related malware for
any operations within India?” they said.
The Indian government has neither confirmed nor denied using the
spyware.
It last week asked WhatsApp to explain the nature of the breach
and the steps it was taking to safeguard user privacy.
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