WhatsApp Pegasus Spyware Update: Facebook India Head Appears Before Panel

WhatsApp was recently under fire for the Pegasus spyware scandal that accessed thousands of messages across the globe. Now, the Facebook India head, Ankhi Das, appeared before the Parliamentary panel where a probe was conducted regarding the same. The parliamentary standing committee on Information Technology was headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

WhatsApp Pegasus Spyware Update: Panel Probes

WhatsApp technically has end-to-end-encryption and the company says the latest snooping scandal is unlikely from its side, reports say. The Parliamentary panel called in cybersecurity experts to hear the opinions on the WhatsApp Pegasus spyware issue related to the citizen's data security and privacy.

Previously, Shashi Tharoor had said in a letter to the panel that "Cybersecurity is a major issue on our agenda and we are definitely going to take this up under that rubric. And we will be seeking clarifications from the government."

Also, the panel held non-official witnesses that including Govindacharya, BJP's former organizational secretary according to the notice of the meeting. He was represented by his lawyer for the meeting.

Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash and officials of the Home Ministry also appeared before the panel. Other officials of the Telecom and Union Home Ministry and Delhi chief secretary were also part of the Parliamentary panel.

WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, was represented by its India's head. Reports say that Facebook India's head, Ankhi Das told the panel "that it is unlikely to breach the end-to-end encryption of the social media platform from its end."

WhatsApp Pegasus Spyware: What Had Happened

Back in October, many individuals including journalists, lawyers, human rights activists, politicians were being spied up using the Israeli Pegasus spyware on WhatsApp. The Spyware was developed by the NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm, which is now under a lawsuit filed by WhatsApp. Reports say that roughly 1,400 users worldwide were affected by the Pegasus spyware scandal.