New Delhi: The New York Times in an investigative report titled “The Battle for the World’s Most Powerful Cyberweapon” stated that the Israeli spyware Pegasus was sold to India.
“In July 2017, Narendra Modi, who won the position on the platform of Hindu nationalism, became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel,” the report published on Friday in the New York Times said.
“For decades, India maintained a policy of ‘commitment to the Palestinian cause’ and relations with Israel were cold,” the report said.
The report further stated that Prime Minister Modi’s “visit, though notably cordial, was completed with his carefully staged moment” and that then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “walking barefoot together on a local beach”. Were”.
“He had a reason for warm feelings. The report said their countries had agreed to the sale of a package of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear, along with Pegasus and the missile system, for about $2 billion.
Suggesting that Israel gained diplomatic advantage around the world from the Pegasus spyware, the report said: “Months later, Netanyahu made a rare state visit to India. And in June 2019, India designated the Palestinian Human Rights Organization as an observer. The United Nations Economic and Social Council voted in support of Israel to deny the status, a first for the country.
However, New Delhi has so far neither denied nor strongly confirmed that it had purchased Israeli spyware.
This comes after an international investigative association had earlier claimed that several Indian ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen and journalists were potentially targeted by NSO Group’s phone hacking software.
Pegasus, which can crack the encrypted communications of any iPhone or Android smartphone, was originally intended for use against terrorists and serious criminals.
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