Pegasus snooping: Govt dismisses report as malicious & motivated… Read FULL statement
Forensic tests have also confirmed that phones of some of these journalists were successfully infected with the Pegasus malware, the report said.
New Delhi: The Centre on Sunday rejected media reports that claimed phones numbers of Indian ministers, opposition leaders and journalists were allegedly bugged using the Israel spy software Pegasus, saying that “no unauthorised interception” has taken place
“The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with its whatsoever, an official statement released by the government said.
Pegasus phone tapping snoop list scam: Complete list of Journalists names and profiles
“In the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp by the Indian State. Those reports also had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including WhatsApp in the Indian Supreme Court,” the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology said in its response.
“This news report, thus, also appears to be a similar fishing expedition, based on conjectures and exaggerations to malign the Indian democracy and its institutions,” the Ministry added.
Govt dismisses Pegasus snooping charge, calls snoop list a fishing expedition based on conjectures
The spyware ‘Pegasus’ is developed by Israel-based NSO Group. The company specialises in hacking devices and caters to various governments of the world for spying purposes.
Forensic tests have also confirmed that phones of some of these journalists were successfully infected with the Pegasus malware, the report said.