Pegasus: Phones of 40 journalists from Indian Express, Hindu, HT & Wire tapped, says report
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
August 11, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022
Pegasus: Phones of 40 journalists from Indian Express, Hindu, HT & Wire tapped, says report

South Asia

Hindustan Times
19 July, 2021, 03:15 pm
Last modified: 19 July, 2021, 07:15 pm

Related News

  • Draft Data Protection Act: Media personnel to get 10 days to give their opinion
  • India begins trial run for trans-shipment of goods to NE via Bangladesh port
  • India could scrap wheat import duty to cool domestic prices, say sources
  • More Chinese women delay or give up on having babies after zero-Covid ordeal
  • India removes or correct around 10 million duplicate entries in electoral roll

Pegasus: Phones of 40 journalists from Indian Express, Hindu, HT & Wire tapped, says report

The probe said that 38 Indian journalists, including those from HT, Mint, were targeted

Hindustan Times
19 July, 2021, 03:15 pm
Last modified: 19 July, 2021, 07:15 pm
Representational Image. Photo/Hindustan Times
Representational Image. Photo/Hindustan Times

India is among the countries that used Israeli company NSO Group's Pegasus phone hacking software to potentially target politicians, journalists and activists, an international collaborative investigation involving 17 media organisations including The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Die Zeit said. India's news website The Wire was one of the 17.

The first part of the multi-part investigation, released late on Sunday night, said that 38 Indian journalists (according to The Guardian), including those from mainstream publications (three current Hindustan Times journalists are named, as is one from sister publication Mint), and websites, apart from freelancers were targeted. The 38 are among 180 journalists the report said were targeted worldwide, including the editor of the Financial Times Roula Khalaf, and journalists from the Wall Street Journal, CNN, New York Times, and Le Monte.

In its response published by The Guardian, the Indian government termed the investigation a "fishing expedition" , that there is "no concrete basis out truth associated with the claim that there was government surveillance on specific people", and referred to a 2019 controversy surrounding Pegasus when a vulnerability in WhatsApp was used to deliver the malware to at least 20 Indian citizens, including journalists, lawyers and activists.

"Government of India's response to a right to information application about the use of Pegasus has been prominently reported by media and is in itself sufficient to counter any malicious claims about the alleged association between the government of India and Pegasus," India said in its response.

"It is important to note that government agencies have a well-established protocol for interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in central and state governments, for clear stated reasons only in national interest," it added.

The investigation was based on a data leak of around 50,000 numbers obtained by Amnesty International and Paris-based Forbidden Stories, a non-profit. To be sure, as the methodology of the investigation explains, the presence of a number does not indicate the individual's phone was hacked — just that it was of interest. Amnesty International subsequently forensically investigated 67 of these phones, and found 23 hacked and 14 showing signs of attempted penetration.

The Wire reported that 10 of the phones forensically examined in India showed they had either been hacked or signs of an attempted hacking.

NSO Group, in a response to Forbidden Stories and its media partners, said the interpretations from the leaked dataset were misleading. "The alleged amount of 'leaked data of more than 50,000 phone numbers,' cannot be a list of numbers targeted by governments using Pegasus," it said, and added that it "does not have insight into the specific intelligence activities of its customers".

The Wire also said that three leaders of opposition parties in India, two ministers, many businesspeople, and one constitutional authority were among those targeted. These names are expected to emerge over the next few days in subsequent installments of the investigation. The website also said relatives of activists accused in the Elgar Parishad case were also targeted.

Pegasus makes it possible for those using the software to intercept all communications on their targets' device, including stored files as well as messages. The malware also allows for the device's microphone and camera to be turned on, and its location logs accessed.

According to the Guardian report, the list of governments believed to be NSO customers, and who entered the numbers that were part of the leaked database are: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, India, and the UAE.

The report is likely to see some heated exchanges in India's Parliament, set to convene on Monday for the monsoon session, especially once names of the opposition politicians are released.

On Sunday, in anticipation of the release — there was buzz that an investigative report of this nature was being published — several opposition parties met. Later on Sunday, after the names of the journalists targeted came out one opposition leader said "we will wait to see what data is available on political leaders," before deciding a course of action.

"GoI has denied resorting to unauthorised surveillance. The question this raises is, if Pegasus is only sold to governments, which other govts (China/Pak?) are using it to snoop on prominent Indian citizens? Shouldn't the authorities call for an independent investigation?" said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a tweet on Sunday evening.

Tech / Top News / World+Biz

India / nation / hacked / phones / global / Media / investigation

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Fuel price hike could have been avoided with BPC savings: CPD
    Fuel price hike could have been avoided with BPC savings: CPD
  • Can’t afford any more losses: BPC chairman
    Can’t afford any more losses: BPC chairman
  • A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
    Short measure at petrol pumps due to low commissions: Owners' association

MOST VIEWED

  • 
The Sri Lanka Navy patrol team inspects a fishing boat during a random search operation, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 29, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
    The high price of a Sri Lankan family's bid to flee crisis
  • Former Pakistan PM Khan's aide, TV channel face sedition charges
    Former Pakistan PM Khan's aide, TV channel face sedition charges
  • Photo: Collected
    Sri Lanka's ousted president seeking entry to Thailand after weeks in Singapore
  • U.S. Dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
    Indian companies swapping dollar for Asian currencies to buy Russian coal
  • FILE PHOTO: Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presents his national statement as a part of the World Leaders' Summit at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain November 1, 2021. Andy Buchanan/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    Sri Lanka's ousted president expected to fly to Thailand, sources say
  • Photo: Hindustan Times
    India begins trial run for trans-shipment of goods to NE via Bangladesh port

Related News

  • Draft Data Protection Act: Media personnel to get 10 days to give their opinion
  • India begins trial run for trans-shipment of goods to NE via Bangladesh port
  • India could scrap wheat import duty to cool domestic prices, say sources
  • More Chinese women delay or give up on having babies after zero-Covid ordeal
  • India removes or correct around 10 million duplicate entries in electoral roll

Features

The elevated ground is made out of soil on which grass and trees have grown. This grass-covered elevated ground extends to the perimeter of the establishment. Photo: Maruf Raihan

Aman Mosque: Where form and function complement each other

1d | Habitat
Photo: BSS

Begum Fazilatunnessa Mujib . . . woman of moral power

2d | Thoughts
Will Glass Cosmetics be your next skincare holy grail?

Will Glass Cosmetics be your next skincare holy grail?

2d | Brands
Akij Tableware: More than just dishes on a table

Akij Tableware: More than just dishes on a table

2d | Brands

More Videos from TBS

Salimullah Khan on Ahmad Safa's thinking on nature

Salimullah Khan on Ahmad Safa's thinking on nature

3h | Videos
Will Tata turn around the Indian car market?

Will Tata turn around the Indian car market?

3h | Videos
Those who remain in morgue for years after death

Those who remain in morgue for years after death

6h | Videos
Is Donald Trump getting caught in tax evasion case?

Is Donald Trump getting caught in tax evasion case?

6h | Videos

Most Read

1
Dollar crisis: BB orders removal of 6 banks’ treasury chiefs 
Banking

Dollar crisis: BB orders removal of 6 banks’ treasury chiefs 

2
Diesel price hiked by Tk34 per litre, Octane by Tk46
Energy

Diesel price hiked by Tk34 per litre, Octane by Tk46

3
Photo: Collected
Transport

Will Tokyo’s traffic model solve Dhaka’s gridlocks?

4
Infographic: TBS
Banking

Dollar rate will be left to market after two months: Governor

5
Arrest warrant against Habib Group chairman, 4 others 
Crime

Arrest warrant against Habib Group chairman, 4 others 

6
File Photo: State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid
Energy

All factories to remain closed once a week under rationing system

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]