These reports by a consortium of news outlets that have been revealing identities of (potential) surveillance targets have major implications on the state of surveillance in India. The latest report under the Pegasus Project investigation taken up by The Wire in India has revealed 18 new possible surveillance targets from Indian private and public sector units. This includes multiple senior-level officials from private sector companies who have had run-ins with the law along with senior-level officials at PSUs like LIC and Gail. Why it matters? The leaked database which is the subject of the investigation reveals the potential extent of surveillance undertaken by the Israeli firm NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. The fact that several people named in this report have been under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), or engaged in legal battles with the government, gains significance in regards to surveillance. According to NSO, the spyware is only sold to vetted governments and their agencies. Once successfully deployed, the spyware can gain access to the microphone, camera, WhatsApp chats, emails, memory, etc. of an android or iOS phone, sometimes with zero-click exploits. Who is included in the list? Top private sector executives Naresh Goyal, formerly of Jet Airways: Goyal, who was the chairman of the now-defunct airline company Jet Airways, appears on the list weeks before he was prevented from boarding a flight to Dubai with his wife in May 2019. The MCA had subsequently ordered a probe into the…
