Defense News , India :-
In a recent revelation, an Indian defence agency has been identified as
a buyer of surveillance equipment from Cognyte Software Ltd, an Israeli
spyware firm often touted as an alternative to the controversial
Pegasus software. Trade data, examined by The Hindu, exposes the
transactions, raising concerns about the potential misuse of such
technology. Notably, Cognyte is currently entangled in a class action
lawsuit in the United States filed by investors.
Allegations
against Cognyte include the unauthorized targeting of journalists,
dissidents, critics of authoritarian regimes, opposition families, and
human rights activists globally. The U.S. law firm Kessler Topaz Meltzer
& Check LLP referenced a "threat report" by Meta Platforms, the
parent company of Facebook, shedding light on the "Surveillance for
Hire" industry.
Despite anonymous claims from defense sources
asserting that the Indian Army lacks equipment capable of monitoring
endpoint communication devices like smartphones, trade data paints a
different picture. For more than three years, Cognyte and its parent
company, Verint Systems Inc., have been supplying computer gear to the
Signal Intelligence Directorate (SID) under the Ministry of Defence ,
Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). Notably, the SID has not recorded any
other imports in recent years, and the latest product, received in
January, pertains to communication equipment cards, not encrypted
devices.
Cognyte has remained silent on inquiries regarding these
imports. Recent reports from the Financial Times suggest that the
Indian government is exploring spyware options to rival the NSO Group
Pegasus, with Cognyte being one of the firms under consideration.
The
controversial Pegasus spyware had reportedly targeted Indian activists,
journalists, and politicians, as revealed by the Forbidden Stories
consortium of journalists. While the Indian government neither confirmed
nor denied purchasing the spyware, trade data reviewed by the Organized
Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) indicated that the
Intelligence Bureau (IB) imported gear from the NSO Group in 2017, a
fact independently confirmed by The Hindu.
In 2019, an SID
official, speaking anonymously to The Week magazine, disclosed the
agency use of spyware. The official claimed that a malicious link sent
via WhatsApp played a crucial role in apprehending Mudasir Ahmed Khan,
the alleged mastermind behind the Pulwama terror strike that claimed the
lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel.
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