BJP may snoop on opposition with Pegasus-like Cognyte spyware: Congress
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre of attempting to buy new spyware, "Cognyte," for snooping on its ministers and the opposition. He further claimed that the Centre was planning to spend nearly Rs. 986 crore on it. The allegations come amid reports that the Indian government bought equipment from an Israeli spyware firm, Cognyte Software Ltd.
Why does this story matter?
The BJP-led central government was accused of acquiring Pegasus and installing it on the devices of politicians and journalists in 2019. When pressed by the opposition for a debate on Pegasus, the government refused, citing national security concerns. Following a probe, the Supreme Court observed that the government did not cooperate with the probe committee by refusing to disclose whether it had acquired Pegasus.
BJP government using spyware on own ministers: Khera
Accusing the Centre of looking for an alternative to the "infamous" Pegasus spyware, Congress leader Khera said, "The '2 spies' of this country do not trust anyone. That's why they are spending crores of rupees of taxpayers like us in buying spy software." He also alleged that the government was using the software to spy on its own ministers.
Congress spokesperson alleges new spyware 'Cognyte' works similar to Pegasus
The Congress leader went on to allege that the government is using the technology to spy on the opposition, journalists, judges, and ordinary people. Khera also stated that many people were unaware of "Cognyte," which operated similarly to Pegasus but was less publicized. However, he stated that a United States-based law firm revealed that Cognyte "regularly targets" individuals for information using "unethical methods."
Watch: Khera addressing press conference in Delhi
Congress demands answers from Centre over procurement of spyware
With the accusations, the Congress has demanded answers from the Centre, such as whether it purchased equipment from Cognyte, and which ministry was tasked with purchasing the software. The party also demanded that the government reveal how much money it spent on the spyware. It also asked the government to explain why this software, about which little is known, was being finalized.
What do we know about Pegasus issue?
Military-grade spyware called Pegasus was created by the Israel-based company NSO Group and is only accessible to verified government clients. In 2019, reports that it was being used by several countries to track people made the headlines. A multinational coalition of media outlets revealed the identities of 50,000 prospective monitoring targets in July 2021, including 300 Indians.
