Use of spyware dangerous for democracy, says Cyber Expert

Following the Pegasus spyware row created a storm in the political circle of India, Anuj Agarwal, a cyber expert, termed the incident dangerous for a democracy. He also said that this snooping is a violation of the right to privacy and should not happen in a democratic system.

New Delhi: Following the revelation that spyware Pegasus, which is sold by NSO Group of Israel, was used to conduct surveillance on about 300 Indians, including the two serving cabinet ministers, Opposition leaders and about 40 journalists, cybersecurity experts opined that this trend is dangerous for the democracy.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Anuj Agarwal, chairman, Center for Research on Cybercrime and Cyberlaw said, "Hacking phones of politicians, bureaucrats, policymakers, journalists and snooping their phones calls and stealing documents is dangerous for the democracy of our country. In a democratic system, professionals linked to journalism and judiciary should have the right to speak and discuss within a circle and without anyone's interference."

"If the government or hostile people do surveillance of such influential people of the society then the leaked information will be presented in the wrong manner and it will lead to an atmosphere of hate against them and they will not be able to express that particular information openly. As a result, the security of our country, peace of our society and democracy will be in big danger," he added.

The chairman of the Center for Research on Cybercrime and Cyberlaw said that this snooping is a violation of the right to privacy. Whether it is being done by a private entity or government or by corporates, this cannot be justified in any way, and in no democratic law, such level of snooping is allowed.

Agarwal described the working of Pegasus and said this spyware can be transferred through voice call, file transfer or links to the high valued targets phone. After the transfer of Pegasus spyware, one can easily access all the details like phone calls, WhatsApp messages, etc.

He further said it is very difficult for a common man to protect his phone from Pegasus spyware, however, one should keep in mind that unnecessary links should not be opened, spam messages with some offers and e-mails should be avoided and unknown phone calls should not be received, this may protect a phone user from such spyware to a certain level.