Priyanka Gandhi on Whatsapp spying: 'Gross violation of human rights'

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra pointed fingers at the BJP government over WhatsApp's revelation that Indian journalists, human rights activists were allegedly being snooped on by Israeli spyware, Pegasus. In a tweet, the senior Congress leader called out the "gross violation of human rights" and said that in case of the government's involvement in the act, it is a "scandal with grave ramifications on national security." The Facebook-owned company has filed a lawsuit against the  Israeli surveillance firm, the NSO group, used for spying on Indians in weeks before May 2019.

Priyanka Gandhi said, "If the BJP or the government has engaged Israeli agencies to snoop into the phones of journalists, lawyers, activists, and politicians, it is a gross violation of human rights and a scandal with grave ramifications on national security. Waiting for the government’s response."

Congress' Rahul Gandhi took the government to task over the spying row by Facebook-owned company. The former Congress chief, who is currently on a meditation visit abroad, raked up Rafale row while addressing the controversy. "The government seeking WhatsApp's response on who bought Pegasus to spy on Indian citizens is like Modi asking Dassault who made money on the sale of Rafale jets to India," said Rahul Gandhi in a tweet. Even senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal sarcastically called out PM Modi's "open transparent government" over the alleged spying incidence.

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Government's response 

While WhatsApp has not revealed on whose behest this hacking has happened, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted that the government is "committed to protecting privacy" of Indians, said that the Centre has asked WhatsApp to "explain the kind of breach."  He further added that "these attempts to malign the government of India for the reported breach are completely misleading."

In a series of tweets, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Government of India is concerned at the breach of privacy of citizens of India on the messaging platform WhatsApp. We have asked WhatsApp to explain the kind of breach and what it is doing to safeguard the privacy of millions of Indian citizens. The government is committed to protecting the privacy of all Indian citizens. Government agencies have a well-established protocol for the interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in central & state governments, for clearly stated reasons in the national interest," he added.

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Pegasus hacking

The hackers were able to install the surveillance software on phones of the targets on WhatsApp. According to reports, the target of the hack received audio or video calls from unknown callers, which is ignored, allowing the hacker to be installed in their mobile device. The Pegasus software-enabled hackers to access the details on the phone, including the text messages and location of the target. India, with 400 million users, is the biggest market for WhatsApp. 

The contentious software, Pegasus, that was meant for government use on a per-license basis stirred the political spectrum as the opposition mounted serious allegations on the government. However, the Cyber & Information Security (CIS) division of the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that no information was given to purchase the Israeli spyware. In response to an RTI application, the Home Ministry as per reports said, "It is informed that no such information is available with the undersigned CPIO."

The spyware Pegasus came under scanner after it was reportedly used to snoop on slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia officials. 

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