PEGASUS AND THE HYPE AROUND IT

-

By Chahat Chawla & Aiman Muskan, Kalindi College

Pegasus is a spyware that enables remote surveillance on smartphones which are running on most of the iOS and Android versions. It has been developed by the Israeli Cyber Firms. On 18th June 2021, Sunday, “The Wire” reported that the contact numbers of over 40 journalists were on the hacking list of an unknown agency using Pegasus. Those targeted were mainly the top journalists from The Hindu, The Wire, The Indian Express, India Today etc. The report further suggested that the NSO group, developer of the spyware, claims to sell the spyware only to vetted government organizations.


Credits: Google Images

One could deduce by the range of pegasus infections and those targeted that the operating agency of the spyware on the Indian numbers is an Indian agency. The Centre responded minutes after the claim; "There has been no unauthorised interception by government agencies. The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever". All this has sparked a wide range of controversies and discussions around the nation and research is still going on about this spyware. To add more to this, it was later disclosed that not only journalists but smartphones of more than 300 Indians were also being surveilled without any acknowledgement!

Source: Financial Express, Middle East Eye (Youtube), The Hindu

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VEHICLE SCRAPPAGE POLICY 2021

-
Image
By Sukanya Verma, Kalindi College Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 13, 2021, launched the much-awaited vehicle scrappage policy intending to phase out old and unfit vehicles in an environment-friendly manner. He also mentioned that this policy expects to bring investments worth around Rs. 10,000 crore.  The Vehicle Scrappage Policy is a government funded program , initiated with the aim to replace old vehicles from the Indian roads. The implementation will begin on April 1, 2023 for heavy commercial vehicles and  June 1, 2024, for all other vehicles after undergoing mandatory fitness tests. Eligibility for scrapping The Vehicle Scrappage Policy will come into action after a vehicle’s registration period has expired. The private passenger vehicles have an approximate life-span of 15 years while the commercial vehicles have an approximate life-span of 10 years. After the passage of this period vehicles emit relatively more pollution as compared to the time when they were n...
Read more

AFTER 52 YEARS, UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS AT ITS LOWEST

-
Image
By Palak Mehta, Kalindi College To be precise, this is the record-breaking year in the history of the United States of America in terms of unemployment. After more than 52 years, the residents claiming unemployment or redundancy benefits have shrunk drastically. According to the U.S. Department of Labour on Thursday, the unemployment claims dropped by 43,000 making the figure 184,000 last week which is the lowest since September 1969. This is a sign of progress in labour markets in these times of pandemics. There was a decrease of 43,000 claims from the previous week, consistent with the govt agency, and below the 215,000 that had been expected during a Refinitiv poll of economists. Economists have cautioned that the data on claims is subject to seasonal fluctuations over the vacation period which will distort weekly readings. Ian Shepherdson, an economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics said “A correction next week seems likely, but the trend in claims clearly is falling rapidly, reflectin...
Read more

CULTURE AND ECONOMICS

-
Image
By Shrishti Singh, Kalindi College Since ancient times, the Indian lifestyle has been known to be enriched with the numerous economic activities of its people. There are various small activities in India that have their origins in the social, religious, and cultural proximity of the country. Religious activities may include the fees of a priest in conducting ceremonies while social activities may be festivals and ceremonies. These economic activities are all interwoven in intricate yet beautiful self- reliant areas of the Indian villages. Numerous socio-cultural traditions in India led to the formation of handicraft industries that have worldwide markets now. The market that Indians had before the invasion of the British was spread in all corners due to its rich artistry. This market temporarily stopped after the British invasion, but the post-independence government steadily tried to revamp that culture. A survey was conducted that showed that in 1995-96 alone, this cultural sector pr...
Read more