Context

• Several opposition leaders said they had received a “threat notification” from Apple, alerting them to a “potential state-sponsored spyware attack” on their iPhones.
• One of the leaders compared the alleged attack to the Pegasus malware attack targeting activists and politicians in several countries that was reported two years ago. 

What was the Pegasus spyware case?

• In 2021, a global collaborative investigative project reported that a spyware called Pegasus, developed by an Israeli cybersecurity company called NSO Group, may have been used to target mobile phones of individuals in several countries, including India.
• The central government repeatedly rejected the conclusions of the global media investigation, and condemned what it claimed was the alleged undermining of national security by the opposition. 
• However, it also refused to supply any facts in the matter — and also never explicitly denied the use of Pegasus.
• A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court appointed an Expert Committee to look into the allegations in the Pegasus spyware case.
• In 2022, the top court recorded in its order that the expert committee found no conclusive evidence for the use of the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware in the phones that it examined. 

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/recalling-pegasus-oppn-leaders-targeted-9007516