{"id":46433,"date":"2025-04-30T06:59:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T01:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=46433"},"modified":"2025-10-11T11:29:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T05:59:25","slug":"sc-backs-spyware-use-for-national-security-in-pegasus-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sc-backs-spyware-use-for-national-security-in-pegasus-case\/","title":{"rendered":"SC Backs Spyware Use for National Security in Pegasus Case, Cites Privacy Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Pegasus Spyware Case Latest News<\/li>\n<li>Spyware<\/li>\n<li>SC Emphasizes National Security Over Disclosure<\/li>\n<li>Pegasus Spyware Case FAQs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Pegasus Spyware Case Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Supreme Court, while hearing the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/pegasus-infection-found-on-indian-journalists-phones-after-apple-alert\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pegasus<\/a> case, said there is no issue with a country having spyware for national security, but the real concern is its use against individuals, which will be examined.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Spyware<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Spyware is a type of malicious software (malware) designed to secretly gather data from a user\u2019s device and transmit it to third parties without consent.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>It is often used for financial gain by advertisers, data brokers, or cybercriminals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Purpose and Risks<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Spyware collects sensitive information like browsing history, financial details, and login credentials.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>It poses serious threats by:\n<ul>\n<li>Enabling identity theft and financial fraud<\/li>\n<li>Slowing device and network performance<\/li>\n<li>Causing data breaches in businesses<\/li>\n<li>Installing additional malicious software<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Common Types of Spyware<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Adware<\/strong> \u2013 Monitors activity to serve or sell targeted ads.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Infostealer<\/strong> \u2013 Gathers specific data and chat logs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keyloggers<\/strong> \u2013 Records every keystroke to steal usernames, passwords, and messages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rootkits<\/strong> \u2013 Grants deep access to a system, often undetectable.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Red Shell<\/strong> \u2013 Tracks user activity during PC game installations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>System Monitors<\/strong> \u2013 Captures emails, websites visited, and keystrokes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tracking Cookies<\/strong> \u2013 Follows user behavior across the web.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trojan Horse Virus<\/strong> \u2013 Delivers spyware by disguising as legitimate software.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How Spyware Works: The 3-Step Process<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Infiltration \u2013 Installed via apps, malicious websites, or attachments.<\/li>\n<li>Monitoring and Data Capture \u2013 Tracks browsing, captures keystrokes, and takes screenshots.<\/li>\n<li>Transmission or Sale \u2013 Sends stolen data to attackers or sells it on the dark web.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Impact<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Spyware compromises personal and business data, facilitates identity theft, and weakens cybersecurity defenses.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Detecting and removing spyware can be challenging due to its stealthy nature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>SC Emphasizes National Security Over Disclosure<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Supreme Court stated that national security cannot be compromised, and there is nothing wrong with a country possessing or using spyware for security purposes.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The bench, led by Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh, clarified that the key concern is not ownership of spyware but against whom it is deployed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Individual Right to Privacy Recognised<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>While declining to make the full report public, the Court acknowledged that individuals have a <strong>Constitutionally protected right to privacy<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>It stated that people who suspect their phones were hacked deserve to know the truth, and the court would consider informing them individually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Petitions Alleging Government Surveillance<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The case stems from petitions filed in 2021 by journalists, activists, and public figures.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>They alleged that the government used <strong>Pegasus spyware<\/strong>, a military-grade surveillance tool made by Israel\u2019s NSO Group, to monitor citizens.<\/li>\n<li>Petitioners argued that the core issue remains whether the government possesses and has used Pegasus.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>They stressed that ownership implies the potential for continued surveillance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Justice R V Raveendran Committee Report: No Public Disclosure<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>On demands to release the report of the SC-appointed Justice R V Raveendran committee, the bench refused, citing national security and sovereignty concerns.\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>In <strong>October 2021<\/strong>, the Supreme Court appointed a <strong>technical committee<\/strong> to investigate whether individuals&#8217; phones were hacked using Pegasus spyware.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The committee was supervised by Justice (retd) R.V. Raveendran, and in <strong>2022<\/strong>, it submitted its findings to the court in a sealed cover.<\/li>\n<li>In August 2022, the Supreme Court noted the committee had found no conclusive evidence of Pegasus spyware use in the phones examined.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Malware was detected in five devices, but its nature could not be definitively linked to Pegasus.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The Centre did not cooperate with the investigation, as per the report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>SC remarked that while individuals can be informed if their phones were targeted, the report cannot become a public debate document.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Pegasus Spyware Case FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> What did the Supreme Court say about spyware in the Pegasus case?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> The SC said owning spyware is acceptable for national security but emphasized concern over misuse against individuals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong> What is spyware and how does it work?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Spyware secretly collects data from devices through infiltration, monitoring, and transmits it to unauthorized third parties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3.<\/strong> What did the Justice R V Raveendran committee report conclude?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> The committee found no clear Pegasus use; malware existed in five devices but was not conclusively linked to Pegasus.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4.<\/strong> Why won\u2019t the Pegasus report be made public?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> The Supreme Court cited national security and sovereignty risks as reasons for not disclosing the committee\u2019s full report.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5.<\/strong> What are the privacy implications in the Pegasus case?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> The SC acknowledged privacy as a fundamental right and may individually inform those whose phones were potentially compromised.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/sc-pegasus-israeli-spyware-nation-security-9972255\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/india-news\/wont-disclose-report-touching-on-security-sc-on-pegasus-row-101745952996361.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">HT<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatoday.in\/india\/law-news\/story\/supreme-court-government-pegasus-spyware-what-is-wrong-terrorists-anti-national-elements-hearing-petitions-2716760-2025-04-29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IT<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court upholds spyware use for national security, stresses privacy rights in Pegasus case; declines public release of probe report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-46433","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}