WhatsApp has been in the news recently for allowing spyware called Pegasus to snoop around the phones of several high profile Indian journalists and activists. The Facebook-owned online messaging giant told it had given information to CERT-IN, which is the government's cyber response team, back in May but it had no mention of the word Pegasus. Government sources have called it "pure technical jargon".
Image courtesy: Reuters
CERT-IN had said that the information shared by WhatsApp was about a technical vulnerability which had nothing to do with the fact that the privacy of Indian users had been compromised.
The filing where WhatsApp disclosed the vulnerability on CERT-IN's website has since been deleted. There is no apparent reason that has been given for this.
Did anyone notice that the filing where WhatsApp disclosed the vulnerability and linked to an article that referenced the NSO Group is now...gone from the CERT website? https://t.co/SE8XkyzXeF https://t.co/C8dRnlR9Q3
— ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (@PranavDixit) November 1, 2019
As per IANS, the government source has said "WhatsApp officials have met Indian government in the last five months. This incident is of August.... then why did WhatsApp not inform us that time. Looking at our demand, now the US, UK and Australia have also raised pitch for traceability. So this is too much of a coincidence. This could be an attempt by WhatsApp to build pressure on countries to push back on growing global opinion for traceability using this example."
https://t.co/knZBGyGpol pic.twitter.com/Q1Ky5VASEu
— Bharat Varma (@BharatVarma3) November 2, 2019
A senior government functionary, who did not wish to be named, questioned whether this was a rearguard action by WhatsApp to prevent the government from bringing measures on traceability and accountability.
The government is also questioning the timing of the disclosure of the hacking incident, particularly against the backdrop of the Centre seeking three months'' time from the Supreme Court to come up with rules to curb misuse of social media in the country.
The government has categorically told WhatsApp that it wants the platform to bring in a mechanism to enable tracing of the originator of messages, a demand that WhatsApp has resisted citing privacy issues.
With inputs from agencies