In a startling claim, Akunuri Murali, a former civil servant based in Hyderabad, claimed that his phone was targeted by the Pegasus spyware developed by the Israeli company NSO.
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This claims follows Mr. Murali informing The Hindu about a suspicious message he received on his iPhone from “threat-alert@apple.com“ nearly a month ago. According to the message, “State-sponsored attackers” were attempting to compromise his iPhone remotely, associated with his email account.
Mr. Murali, who is the convener of the Social Democratic Forum and is also an activist, stated that he was contacted by The Citizen Lab, University of Toronto, a few days after receiving the alert from Apple. After verifying the credibility of The Citizen Lab with his contacts overseas, Mr. Murali allowed them to remotely access his phone. Through their investigation, it was determined that his phone had been on the Pegasus spyware list since August 2022.
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Speaking to The Hindu on Saturday, Mr Murali said: “I was contacted by The Citizen Lab, University of Toronto, a few days after I got the alert from Apple. I checked with my contacts overseas and found them (The Citizen Lab) to be credible. They then remotely accessed my phone, and could identify the issue. It was determined that the phone was on the Pegasus list since August 2022.”
Mr. Murali stated that before giving his consent, he took “four or five” days to check with his friends and acquaintances about whether to continue remaining in communication with those who contacted him. “After checking with people (about The Citizen Lab) I know here and abroad, I had an online meeting with them, where things were discussed,” he said.
Regarding a future course of action, the former civil servant said: “As a citizen, I cannot do anything. I have not done anything unconstitutional, or anti-constitutional, and need not be scared. I will continue with my social activism and questioning the corruption of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments.”
The Hindu sent a request for confirmation to The Citizen Lab, and a response is awaited.
This is not the first incident of spying in Telangana. In 2019, lawyer-activist Balla Ravindranath found out that his phone was hacked after he received a message from WhatsApp informing him that they had thwarted an attack on his phone. He later said that a representative from The Citizen Lab had contacted him.