The phone numbers that were selected belonged to aides who worked for state political figures that were at the centre of a political power struggle at the time. The Wire's latest report on the NSO Group's Pegasus spyware attack indicated that several Janata Dal (Secular) and Congress politicians and their aides in Karnataka were targeted during the time when the State's administration was involved in an intense power struggle with the Bharatiya Janata Party — which ultimately led to BJP forming the government in the State. Why it matters? These revelations have major implications on the state of surveillance and privacy in the country. Earlier reports said that Congress politician Rahul Gandhi and former Election Commission member Ashok Lavasa who dissented against Prime Minister Narendra Modi were listed as 'potential targets of surveillance'. The confirmed spyware attack against poll strategist Prashant Kishor who was key to the Trinamool Congress securing a win in West Bengal against BJP, indicated that there could be a political motive behind these alleged spyware attacks. Tuesday's report by The Wire on the Karnataka government only reaffirmed this indication. The Wire in their report said that the phone numbers of deputy chief minister G Parameshwara and the personal secretaries of former Chief Ministers HD Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah were selected as possible targets of surveillance. The numbers form a part of a leaked database accessed by the French media non-profit Forbidden Stories which was shared with an international media consortium. The Wire's findings — Two phone numbers…
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Karnataka politicians, aides chosen for Pegasus surveillance amid political turmoil in 2019: Report
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