What is Pegasus and why it is trending in India?

NEW DELHI: Pegasus is the hacking software or spyware that is developed, marketed and licensed to governments all around the world by the Israeli company NSO Group.

It has the power to infect billions of smartphones running iOS or Android.

The Israeli spyware Pegasus was used to target thousands of people throughout the world, according to a global collaborative investigation project.

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Why Pegasus was used to target the phones of several famous journalists and politicians in India?

According to the sources, at least 300 people are thought to have been targeted in India, including two serving Ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, three opposition figures, one constitutional authority, several journalists and business people.

Pegasus spyware has made headlines after news outlets such as the Washington Post and the Guardian reported on purported spying.

In forensic tests, on a small sample of phones connected with these numbers, 37 phones, 10 of which are Indian, showed clear indicators of Pegasus spyware targeting.

It is impossible to say clearly if a phone observed an attack attempt or was effectively penetrated without exposing it to this technological investigation.

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The Israeli company NSO Group which distributes Pegasus around the world, claims that its clients are limited to 36 "vetted government."

As part of a collaborative investigation called the "Pegasus Project," Paris-based media nonprofit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International accessed the leaked database and shared it with The Wire, Le Monde, The Guardian, Washington Post, Die Zeit, Suddeutsche Zeitung, and ten other Mexican, Arab and European news organisations.

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