Ravi Shankar Prasad says 'WhatsApp has not submitted list of 121 users spied upon'

During a debate on the WhatsApp snooping controversy in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted that WhatsApp had not provided the names of the 121 people in India whose devices were spied upon. Mentioning the sequence of events, he noted that WhatsApp wrote to the government a few months ago stating that the full extent of this cyber attack may never be known. The Union Minister added that WhatsApp had given an assurance that it was reviewing the available information.  

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WhatsApp asked for an explanation

In October, WhatsApp confirmed that phones of roughly 1,400 individuals across the world were hacked using the Israeli spyware ‘Pegasus’ earlier this year. Reports suggest that journalists, academics, and human rights activists were among those users who were targeted in India. In his first reaction, Prasad said that WhatsApp had been asked for an explanation in this regard. 

He remarked, “Government of India is concerned at the breach of privacy of citizens of India on the messaging platform Whatsapp. We have asked Whatsapp to explain the kind of breach and what it is doing to safeguard the privacy of millions of Indian citizens. The government is committed to protecting the privacy of all Indian citizens."

Read: WhatsApp Cyber Attack: Minister Demands Explanation, Slams Opposition

Read: On Meditation Abroad, Rahul Gandhi Makes WhatsApp Breach About Rafale

(With inputs from ANI)