Research shows human rights activists in India were targeted with spyware

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

https://www.cyberscoop.com/india-spyware-nso-group-amnesty-international-citizen-lab/

By Shannon Vavra
CYBERSCOOP
June 15, 2020

Human rights activists in India were targeted by a coordinated spyware campaign 
from January to October of 2019, according to research published Monday by 
Amnesty International and the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab.

Nine activists in total were targeted, eight of which have been calling for the 
release of 11 people jailed during protests related to the violent uprising in 
Bhima Koregaon, India in 2018.

The targets were sent spearphishing emails with malicious links and files that, 
if clicked, would infect the victims’ computers with spyware capable of 
tracking their communications. Three of the activists were also alleged to have 
been targeted by Pegasus, a notorious spyware program developed by Israeli 
surveillance software firm NSO Group last year.

Human rights defenders in India have been victimized by spyware in the past. 
But the research shows that surveillance software has been leveraged multiple 
times against activists linked to the Bhima Koregaon activists. One of the 
activists who was imprisoned following the protests, Anand Teltumbde, alleged 
last year that someone used NSO’s software in an attempt to hack his devices.

[...]

--
Subscribe to InfoSec News
https://www.infosecnews.org/subscribe-to-infosec-news/
https://twitter.com/infosecnews_