The Financial Times has published a report alleging that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is engaging in citizen surveillance by purchasing advanced surveillance tools from Israeli tech firms like Cognyte and Septier. This surveillance system is said to be installed at subsea cable landing stations, enabling India’s security agencies to monitor the private data and communications of its vast population of 1.4 billion people.
According to the report, Israel-based company Septier has provided its lawful interception technology to telecom giants like Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, and Singtel. The company claims its technology can extract communication data from targets, including voice calls, messaging services, web browsing, and email correspondence.
Another Israeli firm, Cognyte, also provides surveillance products in India. In the past, Cognyte was implicated in a case involving the tracking of journalists and politicians in multiple countries, although India was not specifically mentioned in that context.
The report refers to four individuals with experience in submarine cable projects worldwide who noted that India stands out in openly mandating the installation of surveillance equipment at subsea cable landing stations and government-approved data centers as a requirement for telecom companies to operate.
It’s worth noting that Livemint could not independently verify the claims made in the Financial Times report.
India has faced similar concerns before, notably in the Pegasus spyware scandal of 2019 and 2021, where opposition leaders, journalists, and activists accused the Modi government of using the Pegasus spyware to monitor them.
This report sheds light on the broader issue of governments globally employing surveillance tools for various purposes. It also highlights the significance of maintaining privacy and data protection, especially in the digital age.