In a major revelation, Andhra Pradesh’s former intelligence chief AB Venkateswara Rao has disclosed that Israeli cyber intelligence firm NSO Group had approached the state government during Chandrababu Naidu’s regime with an offer to sell its Pegasus spyware. Pegasus is a hacking software – a military grade spyware – that is developed and sold to governments around the world by the NSO Group.

The revelation was made by the former intelligence chief in an exclusive interview with TNM. It comes at a time when the YSRCP government in the state has passed a resolution to set up a house committee to look into whether the illegal spyware was bought by the previous Naidu government.

While the Indian government has been accused of buying Pegasus, it has been non-committal in its response. There have also been speculations over whether state governments have purchased Pegasus. After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent revelation about receiving an offer for the illegal spyware, this is the first time that there is confirmation that NSO had approached a state government. Rao, however, categorically stated that the AP government did not go ahead with the proposal.

When asked if Andhra Pradesh had ever been approached by the NSO Group for selling its Pegasus spyware, Rao said, “Any equipment manufacturer worth its salt dealing with security equipment would have reached out to various police departments – state as well as central. In every state there may be a different agency they may approach. In Andhra Pradesh too they approached the Police Department. More specifically, if it is equipment with cutting edge technology they approach the Intelligence Department. If it is for everyday use, they may approach the DGP.”

“Here also they approached us, we looked at it and had a discussion at the government level. Because we found it to be illegal per se, a conscious decision was taken not to go for it,” Rao revealed.

The revelation comes nearly two weeks after Mamata Banerjee revealed in the legislative assembly that the West Bengal government had received an offer to purchase the Pegasus spyware. According to Mamata, the NSO Group offered her government the spyware for Rs 25 crore about 4-5 years ago.

Rao also divulged in the interview that during the talks with the NSO Group, the Naidu government asked whether the spyware was legal. “When we briefed the government that such a technology exists and this is the approximate cost, the only question the government asked was if it is legal. We said no – and they asked us to drop it. There ended the matter.”   

When asked if NSO had approached any other states, Rao said he didn’t have any information on that. “Typically, as it is a high-end, sensitive equipment, neither do we ask them who has purchased it and nor will they reveal it. This is the basic rule that such vendors follow.”

When asked why the Intelligence Department took the proposal to the government despite knowing well that it was an illegal spyware, Rao said, “We had a responsibility to advise the government about what are the technologies prevalent around the world. For example, we tell the governments through periodic reports about what technology is being used by possibly who. We also make recommendations to the government on what precautions to take to avoid falling prey to these technologies. We advise the government that we are not going to buy it, but what if somebody else has bought it and is using it against us? We counsel the government to be careful, for example what to do with their phones, how to use them, and what precautions to take. It is our responsibility to advise the government.”

Rao categorically told TNM that until May 2019, when he was at the helm of affairs in the Intelligence Department, the AP government had not procured the controversial spyware.

The former intelligence chief’s revelations into the details of the NSO Group’s attempt to sell the software to Andhra Pradesh brings the focus back on how many states were really approached by the Israeli firm, and how many among them might have gone ahead and purchased the illegal spyware.

Watch the full interview: