NEW DELHI: India’s authorities has not too long ago focused high-profile journalists with Pegasus spyware and adware, Amnesty International and The Washington Post mentioned in a joint investigation printed on Thursday (Dec 28).

Created by Israeli agency NSO Group and bought to governments world wide, Pegasus software program can be utilized to entry a cellphone’s messages and emails, peruse pictures, snoop on calls, monitor places and even movie the proprietor with the digital camera.

Amnesty mentioned journalists Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire and Anand Mangnale of The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project had been focused with the spyware and adware on their iPhones, with the most recent recognized case occurring in October.

“Our latest findings show that increasingly, journalists in India face the threat of unlawful surveillance simply for doing their jobs, alongside other tools of repression including imprisonment under draconian laws, smear campaigns, harassment, and intimidation,” mentioned Donncha O Cearbhaill, Head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab.

India’s authorities didn’t instantly reply, nevertheless it denied comparable accusations in 2021 that it used Pegasus spyware and adware to surveil political opponents, activists and journalists.