Pegasus firm on hack claim: Allegations outrageous, will file defamation suit

NSO Group, the Israeli surveillance firm that sells the spyware Pegasus, has trashed reports in The Wire and other publications that said phone numbers of Indian ministers, opposition leaders and journalists have been found on a database of targets for hacking.

The report said, the leaked database was accessed by Paris-based media non-profit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International and shared with several publications.

Also watch: Israeli spyware Pegasus reportedly used to snoop on Indian journalists, govt rubbishes report

In a detailed statement, the NSO group has said, the report is full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories, that raise serious doubts about the reliability and interests of the sources.

The statement went on to say, after checking their claims, the group firmly denies the false allegations made in their report. It added that their sources have supplied them with information which has no factual basis, as evident by the lack of supporting documentation.

The NSO group said, it is considering a defamation lawsuit, due to these outrageous allegations. They added that the claims that the data was leaked from the Israeli firm's servers, is a lie and, since such data never existed on any of their servers.

The statement said, that NSO group sells it technologies solely to law enforcement and intelligence agencies of vetted governments for the sole purpose of saving lives through preventing crime and terror acts.