Pegasus spyware used to ‘snoop’ on Indian journalists, activists

What is the News?

According to a report, Pegasus spyware may have been used to conduct surveillance on about 300 Indians including two Cabinet ministers three opposition leaders, a Constitutional authority, government officials, scientists and about 40 journalists.

About Pegasus

• It is a spyware created by NSO Group, an Israeli cybersecurity firm founded in 2010.
• Pegasus spyware can hack any iOS or Android device and steal a variety of data from the infected device.
• It works by sending an exploit link and if the target user clicks on the link, the malware or the code that allows the surveillance is installed on the user’s phone.
• Once Pegasus is installed, the attacker has complete access to the target user’s phone.

Worrying Aspect of Pegasus Spyware

• One of the worrying aspects of the Pegasus spyware is how it has evolved from its earlier spear-phishing methods using text links or messages to ‘zero-click attacks.

What is a Zero Click Attack?

• A zero-click attack helps spyware like Pegasus gain control over a device without human interaction or human error.
• So all awareness about how to avoid a phishing attack or which links not to click is pointless if the target is the system itself.
• Most of these attacks exploit software that receives data even before it can determine whether what is coming in is trustworthy or not, like an email client.