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Updated July 22nd, 2021 at 08:21 IST

Haryana CM claims 'private agencies can procure Pegasus'; flays Congress over snooping row

Defending the Centre over the snooping row, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar claimed that even private agencies could procure the Pegasus spyware. 

Reported by: Akhil Oka
Pegasus row, Congress
Image: PTI/Shutterstock | Image:self
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Defending the Centre over the snooping row, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar claimed that even private agencies could procure the Pegasus spyware. This was in clear contradiction to Pegasus maker NSO Group's stance that it sells this software only to "vetted governments". The controversy came to the fore when French non-profit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International accessed a leaked database of 50,000 phone numbers that were allegedly targeted by Pegasus. 

Addressing a press briefing on Wednesday, Khattar accused the Congress party of colluding with foreign organizations to target the country. Downplaying the claims, he remarked, "Even my mobile number could be on the database which is the source of media reports. Those 50,000 mobile numbers released worldwide could've been targets. But there is no proof as to who targeted these numbers". 

Raking up Congress' history of snooping especially in the context of the alleged bugging of former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office, the Haryana CM added, "They would do this during the UPA tenure. They would target not just opposition leaders but also tap phones and snoop on their own leaders. They feel that everyone must be doing it. But our government has nothing to do with it."

The Pegasus row

As per media reports, the Pegasus spyware targeted over 300 Indian mobile numbers including that of 40 journalists, businesspersons, one constitutional authority, three opposition leaders and two sitting Ministers in the Union government. The database also allegedly contained the numbers of activists who are accused and incarcerated in the Bhima Koregaon case. However, the NSO Group categorically rubbished these allegations and cast doubts on the reliability of the sources.

In response to Republic TV's queries, the Israeli-based firm stated, "They originally claimed that the 50,000 numbers were found on an NSO server. After realizing that it’s impossible since Pegasus has never been licensed that many numbers, and because NSO servers do not have such kind of data, the editors quickly turned their story into a massive ‘what if’, only not to ruin a good headline". It added, "Yet, somehow, the editors decided to run with this story, even after it became clear that their unidentified sources had misled them, most likely intentionally". 

Dismissing the claims on Monday, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Lok Sabha, "The allegation is that individuals linked to these phone numbers were being spied upon. However, the report says that: The presence of a phone number in the data does not reveal whether a device was infected with Pegasus or subject to an attempted hack. Without subjecting a phone to this technical analysis, it is not possible to conclusively state whether it witnessed an attack attempt or was successfully compromised. Therefore, the report itself clarifies that the presence of a number does not amount to snooping." 

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Published July 22nd, 2021 at 08:20 IST

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