New Delhi: The Ministry of Defense on Monday said it did not have a transaction with the Israeli NSO company, which sold Pegasus military spyware which was in the middle of a row of surveillance which currently paralyzed Monsun Parliament sessions.
“Mod does not have transactions with NSO Group technology,” said Defense Minister Junior Ajay Bhatt, in a written reply at Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Previously, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told parliament that there were no invalid telephone interceptions.
The mod answer does not rule out another agency that uses the Ministry of Spywarethe Defense response does not, however, overrides other agencies that use spyware that NSO says only sells to the government and is used for sensitive anti-terrorist operations.
Answer by Junior Defense Minister Ajay Bhattwas in response to a greater question about the defense budget by members of CPM V Sivadasan, who also specifically asked whether “the government” had made transactions with Israeli companies.
Bhatt replied that “mod” did not deal with NSO Group technology.
According to laws in India, telephone tapping or interception can be carried out by law enforcement agencies, authorized by the government or the state government, with national security reasons, public order and prevent incitement to the commission of a violation.
In the middle, this mainly involves the Ministry of Home and Electronic Ministry and Information Technology.
The Ministry of Defense does not have a law enforcement agent underneath.
Surveillance controversies erupted after an investigation by a global media consortium based on data targeting that leaked claiming evidence that Pegasus malware was used to spy on politicians, journalists, human rights activists and others in several countries, including India, including India.