Context: The Washington Post and human rights non-profit Amnesty International have alleged that the spyware instance known as Pegasus continues to be in use, on this occasion targeting journalists in India. Based on newfound data the two organisations have said the phones of founding editor of The Wire, Siddharth Varadarajan, and South Asia editor of the Organised Crime and Corruption Report Project (OCCRP) Anand Mangnale were infected with the spyware.

Pegasus:

• It is a form of malicious software, categorized as spyware, with the primary purpose of infiltrating devices without the user's knowledge to collect personal information.
• Developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, established in 2010, Pegasus was initially discovered in 2016, using spear-phishing techniques such as deceptive text messages or emails to trick users into clicking malicious links.
• Over time, NSO Group has enhanced Pegasus's capabilities, enabling more sophisticated attacks. Notably, Pegasus now employs "zero-click" attacks, which require no interaction from the phone's owner to succeed.
• Zero-click attacks often exploit "zero-day" vulnerabilities, referring to flaws or bugs in an operating system that the device manufacturer is unaware of and hasn't addressed, making them potent tools for infiltration.

Recent Cybersecurity Initiatives in India:

Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative (2018):

Launched in 2018 to raise awareness about cybercrime.

Aims to build capacity for safety measures among Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across government departments.

National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCCC - 2017):

Developed in 2017 to scan internet traffic and communication metadata for real-time detection of cyber threats.

Cyber Swachhta Kendra (2017):

Introduced in 2017, this platform enables internet users to clean their devices by removing viruses and malware.

Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C):

Recently inaugurated by the government.

National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal:

Launched nationwide to facilitate the reporting of cybercrime incidents.

Computer Emergency Response Team - India (CERT-IN):

Nodal agency dealing with cybersecurity threats such as hacking and phishing.

Legislation:

Information Technology Act, 2000:

Key legislation addressing various aspects of cybersecurity.

Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019:

Legislation focused on safeguarding personal data.

International Mechanisms:

International Telecommunication Union (ITU):

• Specialized agency within the United Nations leading in standardization and development of telecommunications and cybersecurity issues.

Budapest Convention on Cybercrime:

• International treaty addressing Internet and computer crime.
• Aims to harmonize national laws, improve investigative techniques, and enhance global cooperation.
• Came into force on July 1, 2004.
• India is not a signatory to this convention.

Types of cyber attacks

Malware:  a contraction of malicious software, encompasses various types designed to harm computers, servers, or networks, including ransomware, spyware, worms, viruses, and Trojans.

Phishing : involves attempting to collect personal information through deceptive emails and websites, tricking individuals into divulging sensitive data.

Denial-of-Service (DoS) : attacks aim to render a machine or network inaccessible by flooding it with traffic or triggering a crash.

Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks: occur when attackers insert themselves into a two-party transaction, allowing them to intercept and steal data.

SQL Injection : targets servers that use Structured Query Language (SQL) to manage data, using malicious code to extract information from databases.

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) : involves injecting malicious code into a website, which runs in the user's browser upon visiting the site, attacking the user directly.

Social Engineering :relies on human interaction to deceive users into violating security procedures and revealing sensitive information.