NSO group issues 'last statement' on Pegasus row; 'won't play along with vicious campaign'

After being woven into a major controversy in India and across the world with the 'Pegasus Project' report, the maker of the Pegasus software, Israeli-based NSO Group, on Wednesday asserted that it will no longer respond on the issue. The firm, in the recently released statement, has cited the 'well-orchestrated media campaign' led by Forbidden Stories and pushed by special interest groups, with 'complete disregard of the facts', as the reason for refrainment from responding in the matter. The statement is in context to a list that allegedly contained 50,000 phone numbers that have been linked to snooping using Pegasus, from which certain numbers purportedly belonged to persons in India, thereby kicking up controversy on these shores as well.

'Will no longer respond to the Pegasus issue': NSO Group says 'Enough Is Enough' 

"In light of the recent planned and well-orchestrated media campaign lead by Forbidden Stories and pushed by special interest groups, and due to the complete disregard of the facts, NSO is announcing it will no longer be responding to media inquiries on this matter and it will not play along with the vicious and slanderous campaign," the NSO Group said in the statement.

The firm, in what it refers to as the last statement in the matter, has reiterated that the numbers in the list are not related to the NSO group. It has added that any claim that a name in the list is related to a Pegasus target or Pegasus potential target is 'erroneous and false'. "NSO is a technology company. We do not operate the system, nor do we have access to the data of our customers, yet they are obligated to provide us with such information under investigations," it made clear in the statement while highlighting that it will 'thoroughly investigate' any credible proof of misuse of its technologies, "as we always had, and will shut down the system where necessary."

Report alleges Indian govt spied on citizens; IT Minister calls it illogical

A report by sixteen media houses claimed that 300 verified Indian mobile telephone numbers were allegedly spied upon using Israeli surveillance technology firm Pegasus - which only has 36 vetted governments as its clients. As per a 'leaked' database, numbers of those allegedly spied upon include over 40 journalists, three major opposition figures, one constitutional authority, two serving cabinet ministers, current and former heads, and officials of security organizations and businessmen. The target also includes the eight activists currently accused of the Bhima Koregaon case. The report claimed that the leaked numbers mainly belong to ten countries - India, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Refuting the reports, Newly inducted IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw categorically called the uproar over it as "sensationalism".