Explained: What is spyware Pegasus?

What is the Israeli-made malware that WhatsApp has said was used to snoop on journalists and activists around the world this summer, including in India? Are you personally at risk, and should you stop using WhatsApp?

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WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, is the world’s most popular messaging app, with more than 1.5 billion users worldwide. About a quarter of those users — more than 400 million, or 40 crore — are in India, WhatsApp’s biggest market.

On Thursday, The Indian Express reported that the popular messaging platform WhatsApp was used to spy on journalists and human rights activists in India earlier this year. The surveillance was carried out using a spyware tool called Pegasus, which has been developed by an Israeli firm, the NSO Group.