The past few days have once again provided extensive evidence of a cyberattack on Indian citizens. Barring the evasive statements issued by various ministers of the Government of India, we are yet to hear any substantive explanation of why phone numbers of several Indian politicians, including Rahul Gandhi, activists and lawyers were found to be amongst the 50,000 other phone numbers believed to be potential surveillance targets by governments around the world. It is correct that for a variety of reasons, forensic testing that might have revealed infection by NSO’s Pegasus was not possible in each of these cases. But the presence of these numbers does call for a thorough investigation, instead of another word salad being offered by the government. The French and Israeli governments have already ordered an investigation.

Most followers of this controversy will remember that this is not the first time the current government has been accused of snooping on civilians. In 2019, it was alleged that NSO’s software was used by GoI to exploit a vulnerability in WhatsApp to illegally spy on 24 citizens, and hack as many as121 Indians. All that resulted in was bombastic denials by ministers, and blocking of any action by the ruling party. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology chaired by Shashi Tharoor had held some hearings but no substantive outcome resulted or at least no information was made public. Such inaction across board leaves us citizens to wonder whether the surveillance structure is one where all parties are complicit and the inaction is deliberate after some obligatory public outrage.

In 2019, WhatsApp, in order to avoid any conflict with GoI, decided to sue NSO in California. The documents filed in that lawsuit tell us that Pegasus could “remotely and covertly extract valuable intelligence from virtually any mobile device”. Pegasus was designed, in part, to intercept communications sent to and from a device, including communications over iMessage, Skype, Telegram, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and others. Pegasus was modular malware, which meant that it could be customised for different purposes, including to intercept communications, capture screenshots and exfiltrate browser history and contacts from the device. That case is now on the discovery stage, in which both sides can request documents and records that may reveal more.

This is only a part of the surveillance structure that operates unbridled in India. On March 11, the Indian government casually announced the adoption of facial recognition technology enabled surveillance. We were told that using photographic and other information from government “databases”, 1,100 individual participants in the Delhi riots had been identified. The number was later raised to 1,900. When other advanced democracies, including the European Union and several states in the US, have been slowing down or stopping use of facial recognition in the public sphere altogether, here in India, we seem to be not only traveling at top speed in the other direction, but the actions of the government indicate that rule of law is no more than a small bump on the way.

There are at least three other projects that are building a 360-degree surveillance mechanism by the government. These projects, namely CMS, NATGRID and NETRA, operate under complete secrecy without any publicly available information. CMS and NETRA are demonstrably among the most invasive in the world — all the more so, considering how a patchwork of broadly worded laws with questionable compliance rates allows them to tap into virtually any network, often without the knowledge of the service providers themselves. NATGRID was built with an intent to enable government agencies to get information such as bank account details and transaction details, in violation of the principles which were laid down in the Supreme Court’s Puttaswamy judgment.

There seems to be a concerted effort to create a surveillance state, monitor free flow of information and use technology to control instead of empowering citizens. Where the government reads every face, political dissent is under permanent intimidation. We cannot live our lives outside the range of others’ cameras anymore.

What should we do now?

Simple.

First, we should not allow this to be yet another scandal that captures our attention for a few weeks before some other thing erupts. We all must keep the pressure on.

Second, an independent inquiry commission must be set up. This commission should not be headed by one or two Supreme Court judges but by a panel consisting of members of judiciary, civil society and technical experts. We must also ensure that the matter is not sent to the CBI, who the Supreme Court itself has called a caged parrot.

Third, in the absence of an independent judicial inquiry ordered by the Supreme Court, states should order the kind of investigations the state of West Bengal headed by Mamata Banerjee has ordered.

Fourth, all the victims should approach courts, police and ask for their rights to be enforced. Courts should stop buying the catchall argument of national security and allow governments to use the market to create an infrastructure of surveillance. Government’s right to have continuous access to our data, without adequate safeguards, should also be held a violation of constitutional human rights.

Fifth, information about the three surveillance projects, namely CMS, NATGRID and NETRA, should be publicly available and they must be subject to the principles laid down in the Puttaswamy case.

Sixth, we must use this opportunity to force Parliament to make by statute a strong personal privacy charter protecting the right to be free from forms of behaviour collection and mass data analysis that are demonstrably harmful. Such an Act should not have any exceptions. It should subject all government surveillance — and government use of private surveillance technologies — to the rule of law.

Without the freedom to think freely, there are no rights that can be exercised by anyone. If we leave this discussion only to politicians and don’t hold them accountable this time, we are doomed to live through the death of freedom.

There are many targets, I'll be naming some. Starting off with journalists and editors.

1. M.K. Venu: A founding editor of The Wire. His phone was also forensically analysed and traces of Pegasus were found.

2. Sushant Singh: Former Indian Express journalist who writes on national security. After a forensic analysis of his phone, Amnesty arrived at the conclusion that it had been compromised.

3. Siddharth Varadarajan: A founding editor of The Wire, his phone was forensically analysed. The analysis showed that the phone was compromised by Pegasus.

4. Paranjoy Guha Thakurta: Former EPW editor, who now writes for Newsclick. His phone was compromised by Pegasus, forensic analysis revealed.

5. S.N.M. Abdi: Former Outlook journalist, whose phone was compromised according to forensic analysis.

6. Vijaita Singh: The Hindu journalist who covers the home ministry. Forensic analysis of her phone showed evidence of an attempted hack, but no evidence of a successful compromise.

7. Smita Sharma: Former TV18 anchor. Forensic analysis found evidence of an attempted hack but nothing to indicate that her phone was successfully infected.

8. Shishir Gupta: Executive editor at Hindustan Times

9. Rohini Singh: Freelance journalist who has written several exposes for The Wire about controversial business dealings of politicians or their family members.

10. Devirupa Mitra: The Wire‘s diplomatic editor.

11. Prashant Jha: Views editor of Hindustan Times, formerly the bureau chief.

12. Prem Shankar Jha: A veteran journalist who held editorial positions at Hindustan Times, the Times of India and several other newspapers. He is a regular contributor to The Wire.

13. Swati Chaturvedi: Freelance journalist who has contributed to The Wire. She wrote a book about the infamous BJP IT Cell.

14. Rahul Singh: Defence correspondent for Hindustan Times.

15. Aurangzeb Naqshbandi: A political reporter who formerly worked for Hindustan Times and covered the Congress party.

16. Ritika Chopra: A journalist for the Indian Express who covers the education and Election Commission beats.

17. Muzamil Jaleel: Another Indian Express journalist who covers Kashmir.

18. Sandeep Unnithan: India Today journalist who reports on defence and the Indian military.

19. Manoj Gupta: Editor of investigations and security affairs at TV18.

20. J. Gopikrishnan: An investigative reporter with The Pioneer, he broke the 2G telecom scam.

21. Saikat Datta: Formerly a national security reporter.

22. Ifthikar Gilani: Former DNA reporter who reports on Kashmir.

23. Manoranjan Gupta: Northeast-based editor in chief of Frontier TV.

24. Sanjay Shyam: A Bihar-based journalist.

25. Jaspal Singh Heran: An octogenarian who is the editor-in-chief of the Ludhiana-based Punjabi daily Rozana Pehredar.

26. Roopesh Kumar Singh: A freelance based in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh.

27. Deepak Gidwani: Former correspondent of DNA, Lucknow.

28. Sumir Kaul: A journalist for news agency PTI.

29. Shabir Hussain: A Delhi-based political commentator from Kashmir.

Politicians, political figures or individual linked to them

1. Rahul Gandhi: The Congress party leader who was presumed prime ministerial candidate for the past two general elections.

2. Alankar Sawai: A close aide of Rahul Gandhi.

3. Sachin Rao: Another aide of Rahul Gandhi who is a member of the Congress Working Committee.

4. Prashant Kishor: An election strategist who has worked for several political parties, including the BJP and the Congress. His phone was forensically analysed and showed signs of a successful hack.

5. Abhishek Banerjee: A Trinamool Congress MP who is the nephew of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

6. Ashwini Vaishnaw: A former IAS officer who was made a Union cabinet minister in the recent expansion.

7. Prahlad Singh Patel: Another cabinet minister in the Union government, his wife, secretaries, assistants, cook and gardener, etc.

8. Pravin Togadia: Former head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

9. Pradeep Awasthi: Personal secretary to former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia.

10. Sanjay Kachroo: A corporate executive who was chosen by then human resource development minister Smriti Irani as her officer on special duty in 2014, but was never formally appointed. Listed along with his father and minor son.

11. G. Parameshwara: Deputy chief minister in the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka, which was toppled after several MLAs defected to the BJP.

12: Satish: Personal secretary to H.D. Kumaraswamy, who was chief minister of Karnataka.

13. Venkatesh: Personal secretary to Siddaramaiah, who was the Congress chief minister of Karnataka before Kumaraswamy.

14. Manjunath Muddegowda: Security personnel of former prime minister and JD(S) president H.D. Devegowda.

Constitutional authority

1. Ashok Lavasa: A career bureaucrat, he was a potential target of surveillance when he was an election commissioner.

Activists, lawyers and academicians

1. Hany Babu M.T.: Professor at Delhi University who is an accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

2. Rona Wilson: A prisoners’ rights activist who is another accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

3. Vernon Gonsalves: A rights activist. He is also accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

4. Anand Teltumbde: An academic and civil liberties activist who is accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

5. Shoma Sen: Retired professor and one of the accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

6. Gautam Navlakha: A journalist and rights activist who is accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

7. Arun Ferreira: A lawyer who is also accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

8. Sudha Bhardwaj: Activist and lawyer and accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

9. Pavana: The daughter of Telugu poet Varavara Rao, who is accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

10. Minal Gadling: The wife of lawyer Surendra Gadling, who is accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

11. Nihalsing Rathod: A lawyer and associate of Surendra Gadling.

12. Jagadish Meshram: Another lawyer who is associated with Surendra Gadling.

13. Maruti Kurwatkar: An accused in several cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He was represented by Surendra Gadling.

14. Shalini Gera: A lawyer who has represented Sudha Bharadwaj.

15. Ankit Grewal: A close legal associate of Sudha Bharadwaj.

16. Jaison Cooper: Kerala-based rights activist who is a friend of Anand Teltumbde.

17. Rupali Jadhav: A member of cultural troupe Kabir Kala Manch.

18. Lalsu Nagoti: A lawyer who is a close associate of Mahesh Raut, who is accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

19. Soni Sori: Tribal rights activist who is based in Bastar.

20. Lingaram Kodopi: A journalist and the nephew of Soni Sori.

21. Degree Prasad Chouhan: An anti-caste activist who is the Chhattisgarh state president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.

22. Rakesh Ranjan: An assistant professor at the Sri Ram College of Commerce.

23. Ashok Bharti: Chairman of the All India Ambedkar Mahasabha, an umbrella association of Dalit rights’ groups.

24. Umar Khalid: Former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He was first arrested on sedition charges during the infamous JNU sloganeering case. He is now in jail, awaiting trial as an accused in the Delhi riots conspiracy case.

25. Anirban Bhattacharya: Another former JNU student who was arrested along with Khalid on sedition charges.

26. Banjyotsna Lahiri: Also a JNU student.

27. Bela Bhatia: A lawyer and human rights activist based in Chhattisgarh.

28. Shiv Gopal Mishra: A railway union leader.

29. Anjani Kumar: Delhi-based labour rights activist.

30. Alok Shukla: An anti-coal mining activist and convenor of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan.

31. Saroj Giri: A Delhi University professor.

32. Shubhranshu Choudhary: A Bastar-based peace activist.

33. Sandeep Kumar Rai: Former BBC journalist and trade union activist.

34. Khalid Khan: A colleague of Sandeep Kumar Rai.

35. Ipsa Shatakshi: A Jharkhand-based activist.

37. S.A.R. Geelani: Delhi University professor who was convicted and later acquitted in the parliament bombing case. His phone was forensically analysed and showed signs of an infection by Pegasus.

38. G. Haragopal: A retired professor who taught at the University of Hyderabad. He was chairman of Saibaba Defence Committee. Three of his phones were forensically analysed and the results were inconclusive.

39. Vasantha Kumari: The wife of former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba, who was convicted for links with a banned Maoist organisation.

40. Jagdeep Chhokar: Co-founder of the watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms.

Civilians

1. A former Supreme Court staffer: The woman had accused then chief justice of India Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment. Several members of her family were also potential targets for surveillance.

Figures from the Northeast

1. Samujjal Bhattacharjee: An advisor to the All Assam Students Union and member of the high level committee to look into the implementation of Clause Six of the Assam Accord.

2. Anup Chetia: A leader of the United Liberation Front of Assam.

3. Malem Ningthouja: A Delhi-based writer who is from Manipur.

Nagaland leaders

1. Atem Vashum: A leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-Isak Muivah) who is assumed to be the successor to the group’s chairman Th. Muivah.

2. Apam Muivah: Another NSCN (I-M) leader who is Th. Muivah’s newphew.

3. Anthony Shimray: The commander in chief of the Naga Army of NSCN (I-M).

4. Phunthing Shimrang: The former commander in chief of the NSCN (I-M)’s Naga Army.

5. Kitovi Zhimomi: Convenor of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs). The Narendra Modi government was in parleys with the groups to find ‘one solution’ to the Naga issue.

Scientists or those involved in the health sector

1. Gagandeep Kang: One of India’s foremost virologists who was involved in the fight against the Nipah virus.
2

. Hari Menon: The Indian head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

CBI officers and individuals linked to them

1. Alok Verma: Former chief of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Verma was added to the list soon after he was ousted by the Modi government. The personal telephone numbers of his wife, daughter and son-in-law would eventually get placed on the list too, making it a total of 8 numbers from this one family.

2. Rakesh Asthana: Asthana, then a senior CBI officer, was added to the list the same time as Verma. He is seen to be close to the Modi dispensation and currently heads the BSF.

3. A.K. Sharma: Another senior CBI official, added to the list at the same time as Asthana and Verma.

Businesspersons

1. Anil Ambani: Reliance ADAG chairman. The phone numbers that have been used by Anil Ambani were added to the list in 2018, when controversy over the Rafale deal had intensified.

2. Tony Jesudasan: Corporate communications chief at ADAG. His number was added at the same time as Ambani’s. A number used by Jesudasan’s wife is also on the list.

3. Venkata Rao Posina: Dassault Aviation’s representative in India.

4. Inderjit Sial: Former Saab India head.

5. Pratyush Kumar: Boeing India boss.

6. Harmanjit Nagi: Head of the French energy firm EDF.

Tibetan officials, activists, clerics in India

1. Tempa Tsering: Dalai Lama’s long-term envoy in New Delhi.

2. Tenzin Taklha: Senior aide of the Dalai Lama’s.

3. Chimmey Rigzen: Senior aide of the Dalai Lama’s.

4. Lobsang Sangay: Former head of the Tibetan government in exile.

Kashmiri figures

1. Bilal Lone: A separatist leader and brother of Peoples Conference leader Sajad Lone. His phone was forensically examined. Even though the device he was using is not the same as the one he used when he was potentially targeted as per the leaked database, forensic analysis revealed signs of Pegasus spyware.

2. Tariq Bukhari: Brother of Apni Party leader Altaf Bukhari. He is a businessman and political leader who was questioned by the NIA in April 2019 for a ‘terror funding’ case.

3. Syed Naseem Geelani: A scientist who is the son of prominent separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

4. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq: A separatist leader and head of the Hurriyat Conference, he is the chief cleric of the Jama Masjid.

5. Waqar Bhatti: Prominent human rights activist.

6. Zaffar Akbar Bhat: An influential Shia cleric who is associated with the Hurriyat and a prominent separatist leader.

National security figures

1. K.K. Sharma: He was the head of the Border Security Force (BSF) when he was selected as a potential target of surveillance.

2. Jagdish Maithani: BSF inspector general who was integral to the Union home ministry’s comprehensive integrated border management system (CIBMS) or smart fencing project.

3. Jitendra Kumar Ojha: An senior official from the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He was selected as a potential target of surveillance after he was eased out of service in January 2018 and moved the Central Administrative Tribunal against this decision.

4. Colonel Mukul Dev: An army officer who took on the government order that scrapped free rations for officers who are posted in peace areas.

5. Colonel Amit Kumar: Another army officer who filed a petition in the Supreme Court on behalf of 356 Army personnel against what they apprehended was an impending dilution of the Armed Forces (Special Forces) Act (AFSPA).

Bureaucrats, officials from investigating agencies

1. Rajeshwar Singh: Senior Enforcement Directorate officer who led several high-profile investigations conducted by his agency. His wife and both his sisters were also potential targets of surveillance.

2. Abha Singh: Rajeshwar Singh’s sister, who is a lawyer in Mumbai. Her mobile phone was forensically analysed but the results proved inconclusive.

3. V.K. Jain: A former Indian Administrative Service officer who worked as a personal assistant to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Bihar cricket official

1. Rakesh Tiwary: The current chief of the Bihar Cricket Association.

Businesspersons, PSU bureaucrats and lobbyists

1. Naresh Goyal: Former boss of Jet Airways who has run into legal troubles.

2. Ajay Singh: SpiceJet chairman and managing directo.

3. Prashant Ruia: Director of Essar Group.

4. Vikram Kothari: Associated with Rotomac Pens, a group that was investigated for loan fraud.

5. Rahul Kothari: Vikram Kothari’s son.

6. C. Sivasankaran: Former Aircel promoter and maverick entrepreneur, who was also under investigation.

7. B.C. Tripathi: The former head of the state-run GAIL India. He joined Essar in January 2020 as non-executive chairman.

8. V. Balasubramanian: A long-time lobbyist associated with Reliance Industries.

9. A.N. Sethuraman: A lobbyist associated with the Reliance ADA Group.

Tamil politicians and activists

1. Seeman: A leader of the Naam Thamizhar Katchi, he is vocal in his support to the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils.

2: Thirumurugan Gandhi: Founder of the May 17 movement, which fights for the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils. He also supported the anti-Sterlite protests and other civil rights movements.

3. K. Ramakrishnan: An activist with decades of experience. He is with the Dravidar Kazhagam, who later split from the movement to launch the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam.

4. Kumaresan: The treasurer of the Dravidar Kazhagam, which was founded by Periyar.

Supreme Court judge, officials and lawyers

Supreme Court judges, officials and lawyers

1. N.K. Gandhi: A former Supreme Court registrar who worked in the crucial ‘writ’ section of the top court’s registry.

2. T.I. Rajput: Another Supreme Court registrar.

3. Justice Arun Mishra: Retired Supreme Court judge who is now head of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). A number that was registered in the judge’s name was selected as a potential target of surveillance. While sources in the BSNL told The Wire that the number in question was registered in Justice Mishra’s name from September 18, 2010 to September 19, 2018, the judge said he had surrendered it on April 21, 2014.

4. Vijay Agarwal: Counsel for fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi. He was selected as a potential target of surveillance after he signed on as Modi’s lawyer. His wife’s number was also selected as a potential target.

5. Aljo P. Joseph: Lawyer who represents Christian Michel, accused in the Agusta-Westland scam. His iPhone data is being forensically examined and Amnesty’s tech team says there are preliminary indications of targeting by Pegasus.

6. M. Thangathurai: A junior lawyer who works for former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi. He said that his telephone number is listed under his boss’s name in many places such as the bank so that the senior advocate is not disturbed by “routine” calls.