India Targeting High-Profile Journalists With Pegasus Spyware, Says Amnesty (Image: Pixabay)
Amnesty International and the Washington Post conducted a joint investigation and made shocking revelations in their report that the Indian government has recently targeted high-profile journalists with Pegasus spyware. Amnesty said in its report published on December 28 that the journalists Siddharth Varadarajan and Anand Mangnale had been recently targeted with spyware on their iPhones, and the latest identified case occurred in October 2023.
Pegasus software is developed by Israel-based cybersecurity company NSO Group. The company also sold this hacking software to governments around the world. This powerful piece of spyware can infect an Android or iPhone device without any action from the victim. The spyware has the ability to track phone calls, location, text messages, and emails. It can even film the owner with the camera. Most importantly, it infects the victim’s phone through zero-click exploits. This means hacks can be executed without a single bit of voluntary action on behalf of the victim.
As per the report, Amnesty International’s Security Lab first observed indications of renewed Pegasus spyware threats in June 2023. Notably, in March, the Financial Times reported that India is looking for new spyware with a lower profile than the Pegasus system. The Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, also said that the central government is willing to spend anywhere up to $120 million to obtain the software. In October, there were controversies to security alerts sent by Apple to various opposition leaders in the country, warning that “state-sponsored attackers” may be targeting their iPhones. Apart from opposition leaders, journalists Siddharth Vardarajan and Sriram Karri also received similar alerts from Apple.
On this occasion, Amnesty International’s Security Lab conducted a forensic investigation on the devices of individuals, including Siddharth Varadarajan, who received these alerts. As per the report, the Security Lab found traces of Pegasus spyware activity on phones owned by Siddharth Varadarajan and Anand Mangnale. Notably, Siddharth Varadarajan is the founding editor of The Wire, and Anand Mangnale is the South Asia Editor at The Organised Crime and Corruption Report Project (OCCRP).
Amnesty International’s Security Lab found evidence from Anand Mangnale’s device of a zero-click exploit. It was sent to his phone over iMessage on August 23, and it is designed to covertly install the spyware. The report reveals that the Security Lab also identified an attacker-controlled email address used as part of the Pegasus attack on Anand Mangnale’s device. Amnesty also mentioned that it is currently unclear whether this exploit attempt was successful or not. However, as per the Amnesty report, this attempt happened at a time when Anand Mangnale was working on a story about an alleged stock manipulation by a large multinational conglomerate.
Donncha O Cearbhaill, head of Amnesty International”s Security Lab, said that journalists in India face the threat of unlawful surveillance simply for doing their jobs. Donncha O Cearbhaill also added that this surveillance comes alongside other tools of repression, including smear campaigns, harassment, and intimidation.
