Is Pegasus spyware targeting journalists in India? (GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- The Washington Post and Amnesty International report claims that Pegasus spyware targeted journalists in India, including Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire and Anand Mangnale of South Asia editor of the Organised Crime and Corruption Report Project (OCCRP).
- The intrusion was detected in October 2023 after Apple warned users, including MPs, of potential ‘state-sponsored attacks’ on their iPhones.
What has Amnesty International alleged?
- After Apple issued a security notification to certain iPhone users, including MPs, in October, researchers at Amnesty International’s Security Lab analysed the allegedly infected devices, including those belonging to Mr. Varadarajan and Mr. Mangnale.
- At the end of their examination, they reported finding traces of Pegasus’s activity on their respective devices. Security Lab concluded that a message to facilitate a “zero-click exploit” had been sent to Mr. Mangnale’s phone over his iPhone’s iMessage app on August 23.
- Once received, the message was designed to covertly install Pegasus on the device.
What is a zero-click exploit?
- A zero-click exploit refers to malicious software that allows spyware to be installed on a device without the device owner’s consent. It doesn’t require the device owner to perform any actions to initiate or complete the installation.
- The specific exploit allegedly in use on the two devices is called BLASTPAST (previously identified as BLASTPASS).
- It plays out in two phases. In the first, the attack attempts to establish a link with the Apple HomeKit on the target’s device. In the second, some malicious content is sent via the iMessage app to the target.
- The purpose of the first phase could be to determine how the device can be exploited or to keep it in sight for further exploitation in the future. The second phase is the one that delivers the full spyware “payload”.
What has happened?
- In the wake of the ‘Pegasus Project’ revelations, activists filed several petitions with the Supreme Court alleging a mass surveillance exercise by the government to muzzle free speech and democratic dissent.
- In response, the top court asked the Centre to file a detailed affidavit vis-a-vis its use of Pegasus.
- The Centre refused to comply, however, contending that such an public affidavit would compromise the country’s national security.
Zombie Deer Disease
(GS Paper 2, Health)
Why in news?
- Recently, hundreds of animals in the US are being affected by a “zombie deer disease.”
- The condition is a “slow-moving disaster,” according to experts, and governments should get ready in case it spreads to humans.
The zombie deer disease:
- The deadly and infectious chronic wasting disease (CWD), also known as “zombie deer disease,” affects cervids, which are deer, elk, caribou, reindeer, and moose.
- The neurological symptoms of the disease, which include weight loss, lack of coordination, lethargic behaviour, listlessness, and drooling, can make an infected deer termed a “zombie deer”.
- It is brought on by a protein called a prion that is flawed and builds up in the brain and other tissues, leading to emaciation, behavioural and physiological abnormalities, and finally death.
- The US Geological Survey claims that CWD was first detected in Colorado in 1967 and has since spread to several other states and nations.
Transmission of zombie deer disease:
- The condition may take more than a year to incubate, and symptoms may take time to appear.
- Animals can contract it directly from one another or indirectly by coming into contact with infected particles that linger in the environment, such as soil, plants, or excrement.
- They can also become infected if prions carrying the infection contaminate an animal's feed or pasture.
Rising cases:
- In recent times, Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park reported the first incidence of the disease in a two-year-old white-tailed deer that a hunter had killed in November. Since then, the disease has been found in 800 samples of the state’s moose, elk, and deer.
- 31 American states have recorded cases of the disease.
- Outside of North America, reports of chronic wasting disease have been reported in moose and reindeer in Norway, Finland, and Sweden. A small number of imported cases were also detected in South Korea. Three Canadian provinces have also reported cases of CWD.
Can zombie deer disease spread to humans?
- There has never been a reported case of zombie deer disease in a human. However, some scientists are warning governments to get ready in case of breakouts.
- The mad cow disease outbreak in Britain provided an example of how, overnight, things can get crazy when a spillover event happens from, say, livestock to people.
