The Indian government recently targeted high-profile journalists with Pegasus spyware, say Amnesty International and the Washington Post, in a joint investigation published this Thursday. “Increasingly, journalists in India face the threat of illegal surveillance simply for doing their work, as well as other tools of repression, such as imprisonment under draconian laws , smear campaigns, harassment and intimidation,” said Donncha O’Cearbhaill, head of Amnesty’s Security Lab.
The report discusses the cases of journalists Siddharth Varadarajan (The Wire) and Anand Mangnale (The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project), whose analysis of iPhones revealed traces of the presence of Pegasus. The attack dates back to October 2023 for Siddharth Varadarajan, who it also turned out had already been targeted by the spyware in 2018, according to the NGO. The Indian government did not react immediately, but New Delhi had denied accusations made in 2021 about its use of Pegasus to monitor political opponents, activists and journalists.
Not a first in India
In 2021, 17 international media outlets revealed that Pegasus software, designed by the Israeli company NSO, had been used to spy on the phones of hundreds of politicians, journalists, human rights activists and business leaders. company around the world.
Last month, Indian media reported that the country’s cybersecurity services were investigating allegations of wiretapping by opposition politicians, who received a warning message from Apple about “state-sponsored attackers”. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister responsible for Electronics and Information Technology, said at the time that the government was “concerned” by these complaints.