No Pegasus spyware found in 29 mobile phones examined by SC panel

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, August 25

A Supreme Court-appointed committee which probed into the Pegasus snooping scandal has concluded that the Israeli spyware was not found in the 29 mobile phones examined by it even as it detected some other malware in five of the phones.

“In five phones some malware was found but the technical committee says it can’t be said to be Pegasus," a three-judge Bench led by Justice NV Ramana said after perusing the report submitted to it in a sealed cover.

Headed Justice (Retd) RV Raveendran, the panel had submitted the report to the top court last month.

The report has three parts - Digital images of phones examined for spyware infection, report of the Technical Committee and that of Justice (Retd) RV Raveendran who oversaw the work of the technical committee.

The Bench – which also included Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli – quoted the panel as having said that the Government did not help it.

Senior counsel Kapil Sibal and advocate Vrinda Grover, representing some of the petitioners, sought copies of the report, saying they had a right to know what kind of malware was found.

Noting that the Technical Committee has requested its report not to be made public, the Bench said the rest of the report may be uploaded on its website. It adjourned the hearing for four weeks.

There were certain malwares which could be misused, causing security concern and violating privacy of citizens, the report said and suggested certain measures to prevent misuse of any malware for surveillance, including creating a mechanism for the citizens to lodge their complaints against alleged surveillance and infection of their electronic devices with spyware/malware.

It recommended amendment to laws on surveillance and enhancing cyber security while protecting the right to privacy to ward off unauthorised surveillance. It said private entities resorting to illegal surveillance should be prosecuted.

It said there should be a special investigation agency to probe into cyber attacks and to strengthen the cyber security network of the country.

Noting that citizens need to be protected from violation of privacy, a Bench led the CJI had on October 27, 2021 set up an independent panel led by Justice Raveendran who is being assisted by former IPS officer Alok Joshi and Dr Sundeep Oberoi -- Chairman, Sub Committee in (International Organisation of Standardisation/International Electro-Technical Commission/Joint Technical Committee) in overseeing the work of a three-member technical committee.

The members of the technical committee are Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Professor (Cyber Security and Digital Forensics) and Dean, National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, Dr Prabaharan P, Professor (School of Engineering), Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kerala, and Dr Ashwin Anil Gumaste, Institute Chair Associate Professor (Computer Science and Engineering), IIT, Bombay.

The state can’t get a free pass every time the spectre of national security was raised, the top court had said while setting up the panel.

An international media consortium had reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus spyware. It was also reported that phones of a former judge of the Supreme Court and its registrars were allegedly intercepted using the spyware.

Around 10 petitioners, including the Editors Guild of India and senior journalists N Ram and others, had moved the top court seeking an independent probe into the alleged snooping on eminent citizens, politicians and scribes by using Israeli firm NSO's spyware Pegasus.

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