Private sources said that such ‘spying software’ was ‘likely’ being used by agencies across India, adding that they are not sold to private agencies.
New Delhi: The Pegasus spying software developed by the NSO group can also be bought by state governments and its law enforcement agencies, across the world and not just the federal or central government.
Sources familiar with the development said that the NSO and other similar companies, who specialize in developing such software, had in the past approached different state governments in India and given them presentations about their products. The Sunday Guardian had written about a similar exercise being taken up by NSO in Chhattisgarh in 2017.
This “reaching out” to Indian agencies and state governments through its “liaison officers (who were mostly businessmen)” by NSO to sell its Pegasus software, started sometime in 2011. Private sources, aware of the developments, told The Sunday Guardian that such “spying software” was “likely” being used by agencies across India while stating that they are not sold to private agencies. However, none of the government agencies, both Central and state, have so far confirmed that such softwares, including Pegasus, were being used in India.
In its first “Transparency and Responsibility report 2021”, which was shared by the NSO group last month, it has, at multiple places, mentioned that it only sells its products to “authorized states and state agencies”. The report also mentions that it has 60 customers in 40 countries which clearly prove that in many countries, multiple agencies were using the Pegasus product. In its break up of its customer classification, NSO group has stated that 51% were Intelligence agencies, 38% law enforcement agencies and 11% military.
The Indian government, while responding to the recent controversy surrounding the use of Pegasus in India to listen to private citizens and government officials, has stated that: “There has been no unauthorised interception by government agencies. It is important to note that Government agencies have a well-established protocol for interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in central and state governments, for clear stated reasons only in national interest.”
The government in its response also cited a 2019 RTI query filed by a private individual seeking details of whether Pegasus was bought by the Indian government, to which the government had stated “no such information was available”. The NSO group, in an official response to The Sunday Guardian in November 2019 on a question whether Pegasus was sold to Indian agencies, state or central, neither accepted nor denied the same.
On 3 September 2019, a New York based law firm, while responding to a communication seeking legal advice by the Board of Directors of OSY Technologies whether the company’s proposed new Human Rights Policy and attendant governance documents of OSY Technologies and its direct and indirect subsidiaries were substantially aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, stated that the group’s policies were in consonance with the UN’s principle.
However, the most significant part of the reply was that the law firm stated that the NSO group had the capability to utilize a “kill switch” to shut off the Pegasus system whenever it desired.
Additionally, as per the company’s policies, it will “always” commence an investigation in case it comes across unlawful use of its product. This indicates that even after the product or Pegasus is transferred to a buyer, the control of it remains with the NSO group which is indirectly controlled by the Israeli Ministry of Defence.