Earlier, the Facebook-owned messaging service, WhatsApp, claimed that Indian journalists and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using an Israeli spyware Pegasus.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday categorically debunked all rumours that suggested the government was behind the Israeli spyware 'Pegasus' WhatsApp cyberattack on Indian journalists and activists, adding that the government will take action against any intermediary for breach of privacy.
Earlier, the Facebook-owned messaging service, WhatsApp, claimed that Indian journalists and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using an Israeli spyware Pegasus. In the wake of this news, several media reports emerged claiming that the government was behind the alleged Pegasus spyware attack as per of its suspected vendetta against some journalists and activists in the country. The MHA has responded to these reports by categorically denying these rumours.
Issuing a stern warning to those spreading rumours about the government in this regard, the Home Ministry said, ''Some statements have appeared based on reports in media regarding breach of privacy of Indian citizens on WhatsApp. Attempts to malign government for reported breach are completely misleading. The government will take action against any intermediary for breach of privacy.''
The warning from the MHA came shortly after Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked WhatsApp to submit a response by November 4 about the Israeli spyware Pegasus attack on its users using its platform. the Information and Technology (IT) Ministry on Thursday asked WhatsApp to explain the breach and the requisite steps that can be taken to safeguard the privacy of citizens. Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Government of India is concerned at the breach of privacy of citizens of India on the messaging platform WhatsApp.
The IT Minister also said that the government is committed to protecting the privacy of all Indian citizens and that the government agencies have a "well-established protocol" for the interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in central and state governments, for clearly stated reasons in the "national interest".
WhatsApp has already filed a case against the Israeli firm - NSO Group - at a US Federal Court alleging the malicious cyberattacks with the spyware 'Pegasus', claiming the firm installed spyware on users' phones and targeted human rights defenders, journalists, political dissidents, diplomats and government officials.
WhatsApp accused the NSO Group of sending malware to roughly 1,400 mobile phones for ''surveillance.''
The Israeli firm, which makes software for surveillance, has rejected these allegations.
The affected users are from several countries, including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico, according to the lawsuit.
WhatsApp said that it is seeking a permanent injunction banning NSO from using its service.
The firm, which was acquired by Facebook in 2014, said it was the first time an encrypted messaging provider had taken legal action of this kind.
It may be recalled that the facebook-owned messaging services promotes itself as a "secure" communications app because messages are end-to-end encrypted.
This means they should only be displayed in a legible form on the sender or recipient's device.
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