Heard about Pegasus spyware, developed by Israeli company NSO Group? The name became popular in India after the New York Times broke a report in 2022 that Narendra Modi government had bought the Israeli spyware in 2017 as part of a two-billion-dollar defence package.
India used the spyware to snoop on lawyers, activists, politicians and journalists. You may be wondering why I am talking about the Pegasus now. Here is the simple and straight answer.
The Indian government's recent decision to impose the Sanchar Saathi application on all mobile phones has a lot of similarities with Pegasus Spyware. Wondering what Sanchar Saathi is? Sanchar Saathi is a government-owned cybersecurity app.
The Ministry of Communications wants smartphone makers to pre-install it on all new mobile devices. For devices that are already in use, manufacturers have been told to push the app through software updates. Once installed, the users cannot delete the app.
Because the government has already told the manufacturers that its functionalities should be disabled. The directive has already raised alarm bells.
That is why cybersecurity experts call Sanchar Saathi Pegasus 2.0 But there is a stark contrast. In this video, we break down what the app actually does, why it has sparked controversy, and what it could mean for your device and your privacy.