No deal with Pegasus maker NSO Group: Defence ministry

The defence ministry on Monday told the Rajya Sabha that it has had no dealings with Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group, which is at the centre of a global controversy over the misuse of its Pegasus spyware to hack phones of journalists, activists and politicians. In response to a question on the subject in the Upper House, minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt said, “Ministry of Defence has not had any transaction with NSO Group Technologies.”

The minister responded to a question from CPI-M’s V Sivadasan, who asked about the expenditure incurred by the ministry including money spent on purchases made from foreign countries during the last three years.