What is in news : A global collaborative investigative project has discovered Israeli spyware Pegasus was used to target thousands of people across the world.

What is Pegasus :

• Malicious software or malware classified as a spyware
• Designed to gain access to devices, without the knowledge of users, and gather personal information and relay it back to whoever it is that is using the software to spy.
• Earliest version was captured by researchers in 2016, infected phones through what is called spear-phishing – text messages or emails that trick a target into clicking on a malicious link.

MAHITI FOR MAINS

Steps taken by India to improve Cyber Security

• Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative: It was launched in 2018 with an aim to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
• National Cyber security Coordination Centre (NCCC): In 2017, the NCCC was developed to scan internet traffic and communication metadata (which are little snippets of information hidden inside each communication) coming into the country to detect real-time cyber threats.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra: In 2017, this platform was introduced for internet users to clean their computers and devices by wiping out viruses and malware.
• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): I4C was recently inaugurated by the government.
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal has also been launched pan India.
• Computer Emergency Response Team – India (CERT-IN): It is the nodal agency which deals with cybersecurity threats like hacking and phishing.
• Legislation:
  • Information Technology Act, 2000.
  • Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019