Central government preparing to buy new spyware like Pegasus: Rs 986 crore budget
Central government preparing to buy new spyware like Pegasus: Rs 986 crore budget; Spyware firms of Greece and Israel can bid
The Indian government is looking for new spyware like Pegasus. Pegasus has been blacklisted by the US government and has been embroiled in spyware controversies in India as well, so the government has been talking about deals with Pegasus' rival software companies. These surveillance companies are preparing to bid before the Government of India.
According to a report in the Financial Times, India's defence and intelligence officials are looking for a lesser-known competitor to Pegasus maker NSO. It is believed that the government is ready to spend up to $ 120 million (Rs 986 crore) for the new spyware contract. About 12 companies can bid for this.
Sources aware of the matter said that the Indian authorities are thinking of buying the spyware of the Greek company Intellexa. This company has prepared spyware named Predator with the help of former Israeli military officers.
This spyware is already being named in an espionage scandal involving Greece's spy chief and prime minister. According to Citizen Lab and Facebook, Predator is operational in several countries where human rights violations are taking place. These countries include Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Madagascar and Oman.
It has also come to light that the Indian authorities are showing interest in several spyware, most of which are made by Israeli companies. The most advanced spyware companies are present in Israel, which makes spyware in collaboration with the military here.
Spyware options include Quadream and Cognyte. Regarding Quadrim, Israeli officials say that after the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the spyware was approved to be sold under Saudi influence.
Cognite was delisted by Norway's sovereign wealth fund after Meta's investigation revealed widespread spyware abuse, and Verint, a US-based company, delisted it from its stock.
Apart from these two companies, spyware firms from Australia, Italy, France, Belarus and Cyprus can also bid. The US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have similar spyware developed by the country's own intelligence agencies and not by private military contractors.
