Pegasus Spyware

Why in news?

• Newspapers across the world have released reports regarding the use of Pegasus spyware against journalists, opposition leaders and human rights activists in many countries including India.

About Pegasus Spyware:

• Pegasus is a spyware developed by the Israeli cyberarms firm NSO Group that can be covertly installed on mobile phones (and other devices) running most  versions of iOS and Android.
• Pegasus enables the keystroke monitoring of all communications from a phone (texts, emails, web searches) but it also enables phone call and location tracking, while also permitting NSO Group to hijack both the mobile phone's microphone and camera, thus turning it into a constant surveillance device.
• As of 2016, Pegasus was capable of reading text messages, tracking calls, collecting passwords, tracking location, accessing the target device's microphone and camera, and harvesting information from apps.
• Pegasus hides itself as far as is possible and self-destructs in an attempt to eliminate evidence if unable to communicate with its command-and-control server for over 60 days, or if on the wrong device.
• The spyware is named after the mythical winged horse Pegasus—it is a Trojan horse that can be sent "flying through the air" to infect phones.
• NSO states that it provides "authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime", has published sections of contracts requiring customers only to use its products for criminal and national security investigations, and stated that it has an industry-leading approach to human rights.
• Pegasus was discovered in August 2018 after a failed attempt at installing it on an iPhone belonging to a human rights activist led to an investigation revealing details about the spyware, its abilities, and the security vulnerabilities it exploited.
• It showed that Pegasus was able to infect all modern iOS versions up to the latest release.

Prelims Question

Consider the following statements  regarding Pegasus spyware, recently in news:
1.It  was created by an Israeli Firm.
2.It can be used against both android and iOs phones.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b)2 only
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to prelims question