What is Pegasus

Pegasus is a hacking software which has been developed and licensed to be used by a company of Israeli namely NSO Group. It has a capacity of infection millions of mobile phone including IOS and Android phone systems. Once this software enters into anyone’s phone, the phone becomes a surveillance device. The software can copy all the messages from your phone (sent or received) record calls including WhatsApp calls and also harvest photos and videos.[1]

Recently in 2019, the software exploited more than 1,400 phones  with the help of software. It was also found that the software can also enter an iPhone by Apple’s iMessaging feature, However apples says that to protect your phone for this Pegasus one should keep updating their phone.

India Scenario

In India, there have been many cases wherein, Pegasus spyware was found in the mobiles phone which was considered as a violation of article 21 of those people. Around 40 journalist’s name was found in the hacking list of an unidentified agency using this spyware.[2] The data published over shoes that many journalists were prey to the software between the year 2018-19.  Not only journalists, mobile numbers of 300 Indians including two union ministers, human right defenders, lawyers, thee leaders of the opposition party and scores of two business men was targeted for hacking with the help of the software.

Right to privacy

India is a democratic country, and incidents like Pegasus spyware snooping is violative of the fundamental rights of the citizens. Right to privacy is not an explicit rights mentioned in the Constitution, however after the judgment given in the famous case of K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India[3] “the right to privacy was interpreted as the right of an individual to exercise control over his personal data and to be able to control one’s existence on internet.” Therefore, the right to privacy comes under the ambit of right to life under Article 21. As the spyware Pegasus invade the privacy of an individual it is said to be a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution which is a fundamental right. In the surveillance issue, the absence of privacy impinges on the ideals of liberty and dignity as envisioned in the Constitution of India and hinders the growth of the individual as a citizen of this country.[4] Such a breach is a threat to the sovereignty of the nation and also the ideals of democracy the nation is based on.

Conclusion

The right to privacy is an intrinsic fundamental right available to each individual. Pegasus spyware not only violates the rights of individuals but it could also be use the private information of people. Data protection and privacy being internationally accepted concepts, should be protected from such software. International courts and judicial systems should ban the software or should take necessary steps to stop this violation or right to privacy and disclosure of information of individuals to the public.

By

Avantika Singh
3rd Year, BBA LLB (Hons.)
Symbiosis Law School, Pune

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[1] What is Pegasus spyware and how does it hack phones by David Pegg and Sam Culter.

[2] Pegasus spyware controversy: The story so far, The free press Journal.

[3] K.S, Puttaswamy v. Union of & Ors., AIR 2017 SC 4161.

[4] Pegasus affair is an assault on privacy by Priyanka Chaturvedi.