Firm accused of selling 'Pegasus-alternative' got FDI clearance from UPA govt: Report
The Congress has been attacking the Modi government for allegedly using Pegasus - a sophisticated surveillance tool developed by Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group - against activists and politicians from the opposition parties.
- Apr 11, 2023,
- Updated Apr 12, 2023 3:43 PM IST
The Congress on Monday accused the central government of attempting to acquire a new version of spyware from a company called 'Cognyte'. However, India Today, after reviewing official government records, has found that the commercial group was given Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) clearance by the Congress-led UPA government in 2005. The group had secured the nod from the finance ministry to establish a wholly owned Indian subsidiary for "stock and sale of communication interception equipment".
The company is an Israel-linked entity that is also traded publicly in the US as Cognyte Software Ltd. The listed version of Cognyte was created through a spin-off from its parent company Verint Systems in February 2021, after it separated its 'Cyber Intelligence Solutions' business, the report said citing corporate filings in the US.
According to financial declarations, the report said, Verint had four subsidiaries in India, which included, Cognyte Analytics India Private Limited, Verint CES India Private Limited, Verint Systems (India) Private Ltd, and Witness Systems Software (India) Private Limited, as of January 2021.
In May 2005, then Finance Minister P Chidambaram approved several FDI proposals including one joint proposal from Cognyt's parents, Verint Systems Inc. US and Verint Systems Ltd. Israel. The joint proposal was to set up a hundred per cent owned Indian subsidiary that dealt in imported communication interception, digital video security, surveillance, and enterprise business intelligence equipment meant for business houses and government agencies in and outside India.
Later in 2008, the then Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Shakeel Ahmed confirmed that the company was among 107 FDI approvals cleared by the central government between 2004 and 2008. His statement suggested that Cognyte's parent company was the only firm dealing with communication interception, the report said.
Not only this, Cognyte or its parent corporation Verint was also in news in 2013. According to the reports of that time, the same company was likely engaged by the UPA government for the interception of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) services. The then telecom minister Kapil Sibal, during his 2013 visit to Tel Aviv, held discussions with "Verint Systems, a firm which provides exclusive solutions for lawful interception in cyberspace", the report said.
The Congress has been attacking the Modi government for allegedly using Pegasus - a sophisticated surveillance tool developed by Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group - against activists and politicians from the opposition parties. The controversy began in 2021 when a global consortium of media outlets claimed that Pegasus was used to target over 300 phone numbers in India between 2017 and 2019. However, the Supreme Court-appointed panels probing the use of Pegasus found some kind of malware in five mobile phones out of the 29 examined but it could not be concluded that it was due to the Israeli spyware.
(With inputs from Ankit Kumar)
The Congress on Monday accused the central government of attempting to acquire a new version of spyware from a company called 'Cognyte'. However, India Today, after reviewing official government records, has found that the commercial group was given Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) clearance by the Congress-led UPA government in 2005. The group had secured the nod from the finance ministry to establish a wholly owned Indian subsidiary for "stock and sale of communication interception equipment".
The company is an Israel-linked entity that is also traded publicly in the US as Cognyte Software Ltd. The listed version of Cognyte was created through a spin-off from its parent company Verint Systems in February 2021, after it separated its 'Cyber Intelligence Solutions' business, the report said citing corporate filings in the US.
According to financial declarations, the report said, Verint had four subsidiaries in India, which included, Cognyte Analytics India Private Limited, Verint CES India Private Limited, Verint Systems (India) Private Ltd, and Witness Systems Software (India) Private Limited, as of January 2021.
In May 2005, then Finance Minister P Chidambaram approved several FDI proposals including one joint proposal from Cognyt's parents, Verint Systems Inc. US and Verint Systems Ltd. Israel. The joint proposal was to set up a hundred per cent owned Indian subsidiary that dealt in imported communication interception, digital video security, surveillance, and enterprise business intelligence equipment meant for business houses and government agencies in and outside India.
Later in 2008, the then Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Shakeel Ahmed confirmed that the company was among 107 FDI approvals cleared by the central government between 2004 and 2008. His statement suggested that Cognyte's parent company was the only firm dealing with communication interception, the report said.
Not only this, Cognyte or its parent corporation Verint was also in news in 2013. According to the reports of that time, the same company was likely engaged by the UPA government for the interception of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) services. The then telecom minister Kapil Sibal, during his 2013 visit to Tel Aviv, held discussions with "Verint Systems, a firm which provides exclusive solutions for lawful interception in cyberspace", the report said.
The Congress has been attacking the Modi government for allegedly using Pegasus - a sophisticated surveillance tool developed by Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group - against activists and politicians from the opposition parties. The controversy began in 2021 when a global consortium of media outlets claimed that Pegasus was used to target over 300 phone numbers in India between 2017 and 2019. However, the Supreme Court-appointed panels probing the use of Pegasus found some kind of malware in five mobile phones out of the 29 examined but it could not be concluded that it was due to the Israeli spyware.
(With inputs from Ankit Kumar)