Pegasus Spygate: Senior Journalists Move Supreme Court. Seek Investigations

-
Pegasus Spygate: Senior Journalists Move Supreme Court. Seek Investigations

The mass surveillance using Pegasus, a military-grade spyware, abridges several fundamental rights



Pegasus Spyware Row: Senior journalists N. Ram and Sashi Kumar have moved the Supreme Court for an independent probe headed by a former or sitting top court judge into the mass surveillance of over 142 potential “targets”, including journalists, lawyers, ministers, Opposition politicians, constitutional functionaries, and civil society activists, using military-grade Israeli spyware Pegasus.



“Such mass surveillance using a military-grade spyware abridges several fundamental rights and appears to represent an attempt to infiltrate, attack, and destabilize independent institutions that act as critical pillars of our democratic set-up,” the petition said.



It has also sought full disclosure from the government on whether it had authorized the snooping, which seems to be an attempt to muzzle free speech and to chill dissent. The government, the petition said, had still not given a straight answer to whether the illegal hack was done with its blessings.



“Respondents have not categorically ruled out obtaining Pegasus licenses to conduct surveillance in their response, and have taken no steps to ensure a credible and independent investigation into these extremely serious allegations,” the petition highlighted.



The spying had caused serious dents on the rights to free speech and privacy. It had no legal basis. In fact, the legal regime for surveillance under Section 5(2) of the Telegraph Act had been completely bypassed. Civilians had become targets.



“Surveillance/interception is justified only in cases of public emergency or in the interests of public safety, and the existence of such conditions must be inferred reasonably and cannot be determined solely on the assessment of the government… The hack/interception/decryption occasioned by the Pegasus spyware constitutes a criminal offense,” the petition said.



The Pegasus software, manufactured by Israeli cyber-arms firm NSO Group Technologies Limited, is “extremely advanced and capable of infecting a mobile phone/device without any interaction with the owner (also known as a zero-click attack)”.



“It can conduct extremely intrusive surveillance, including tracking and recording calls, reading text and WhatsApp messages, collecting passwords, reading emails, accessing photos and videos, activating camera and microphone and enabling them to record events, and harvesting information from apps. It can be installed as simply as by placing a call on the targeted device, even if the call is not picked up,” the petition submitted.



The NSO Group claims to sell its products, including Pegasus, only to vetted governments to fight “crime and terror”. A forensic analysis of several mobile phones belonging to people targeted for surveillance by the Security Lab of Amnesty International has confirmed Pegasus-induced security breaches.


https://www.digpu.com/india-news/pegasus

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lathi Charge: A legalised method of police brutality

-
Image
"Every blow on our bodies this afternoon is like a nail driven into the coffin of British imperialism." These were the precise words of Sher-e-Punjab Lala Lajpat Rai when he got brutally " lathi-charged " by the law enforcers of Colonial India while he was protesting against the Simon Commission in October 1928.  Punjab Kesari Lajpat Rai eventually succumbed to his injuries, and his death gave off the spark for vengeance in the heart of numerous Indian revolutionaries. In December 1928, Shahid-e-Azam Bhagat Singh and his compatriot Shivam Rajguru assassinated the Lahore Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) John Saunders to avenge the murder of their mentor. "Lathi-Charge" has remained one of the most brutal and sensitive issues for Indians since the bygone days of the Indian National Movement. Thus, even after 75 years of liberation, India and her children continue to writhe under pain brought on by police brutality and paranoia. Both the Indian Penal...
Read more

Recruitment Scams and Paper Leaks in India: How the deserving youth of India is getting smothered under an obsolete system

-
Image
" India is an over populous country. " This statement is hardly news to anyone, but very few of us know that the average age of an Indian is just 29 years old. Hence, India is a fairly young country with a strong demographic dividend. However, the ambitions and dreams of millions of Indians lie stranded despite their ability and competence. Each new year brings fresh new hopes for millions of aspirants. These young people have expressed their strong will by deciding to dedicate the prime of their youth to preparing for numerous government examinations. In a country where social class divisions continue to be a notable phenomenon in determining one's future, Government jobs and recruitments offer the only genuine means for attaining an egalitarian society. Today, even this little scope for upliftment gets marred under the evils of Paper leaks and Recruitment scams. The problem of the youth, in essence, is the problem of the nation, and it is high time we illustrated the gr...
Read more

Supreme Court renders Modi-backed ED Chief's extension “illegal.” Amit Shah and the opposition enter into a war of words

-
Image
On July 11th, the Honourable Supreme Court went against the Modi Government's decision by annulling Enforcement Directorate Chief Sanjay Mishra's extension. The Supreme Court bench rendered Sanjay Mishra's tenure extension illegal because it went against their previous verdict. Sanjay Kumar Mishra's successive extensions got brought to the Court's attention through petitions moved by opposition leaders like Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jaya Thakur, Mahua Moitra, and others. The Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice B. R. Gavai held that Mishra could hold on to his office up to July 31st at most, during which the Modi Government must ensure a “smooth transition in the larger public interest."  The previous judgments by the Supreme Court on the matter Back in 2021, the Modi Government had, via the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act and the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, made amendments to the necessary laws to safeguard the extension of the tenure...
Read more