WhatsApp downloads in India hit as news of Pegasus spyware hogs limelight
By MYBRANDBOOK
Ever since the Pegasus spyware was brought to the public eye by WhatsApp last week, downloads of the app have reportedly come down by a surprising 80 percent in India. Meanwhile, downloads of another end-to-end encrypted app, Signal have gone up by 63 percent to 9,600 during the same period. Telegram messenger (which is based in Russia and offers a secure messaging platform) also saw an increase in downloads in this period by 10 percent, hitting 9, 20,000.
According to data from mobile analytics and intelligence firm Sensor Tower (via Business Standard), the week before WhatsApp said that it would be suing NSO Group, the Israeli firm behind the malware, app downloads stood at 8.6 million. Between 26 October and 3 November, downloads came down to 1.8 million.
"One download per Apple ID or Google account, not including re-installs, installs to multiple devices owned by the same account, or app updates," according to Sensor Tower.
On 29 October, WhatsApp revealed that it was suing Israel-based NSO Group for developing the Pegasus spyware that was used to target 1,400 civil rights activists, lawyers, and journalists across the world, including several in India. However the fact remains that WhatsApp was one of the several services used to help spread Pegasus.
Although WhatsApp ensures that messaging between users on the platform is secure owing to its end-to-end encryption model, the actual contents of the messages shared are not checked. This resulted in the Pegasus spyware getting into users' phones via an infected link. This link could have been sent via SMS, MMS, Telegram, Signal, email, or any of several dozen other options.
WhatsApp has also claimed a few days back that it informed the Indian authorities about the vulnerability in May 2019. A government official however said that India's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) could not understand the magnitude of the situation as the advisory came with 'technical jargon'.
BREAKING NEWS
TECHNO TRENDS
Nazara and ONDC set to transform in-game monetization with ‘
Nazara Technologies has teamed up with the Open Network for Digital Comme...
Jio Platforms and NICSI to offer cloud services to government
In a collaborative initiative, the National Informatics Centre Services In...
BSNL awards ₹5,000 Cr Project to RVNL-Led Consortium
A syndicate led by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (abbreviated as RVNL), along wi...
Pinterest tracks users without consent, alleges complaint
A recent complaint alleges that Pinterest, the popular image-sharing platf...
E-Magazine
TECHNOTAINMENT
Netflix adds 'Moments' feature for saving, sharing scenes from
Netflix has introduced a new “Moments” feature on its mobile app, whic
Jacqueline Fernandez come together with YouTuber Mr. Beast for
Jacqueline Fernandez has partnered with American YouTuber Mr. Beast to b
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Visa elevates Rishi Chhabra as new Country Manager for India
Rishi holds a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from The Ohio State Univ
Genesys welcomes Albert Nel as Senior VP and Regional Sales Le
Genesys continues to deepen its investment in the APAC region. Earlier this
OPEN YOUR EYES
INTERVIEWS
Delivering Critical Business Communication Solutions to Enterp
Arya Omnitalk and Syntel’s comprehensive suite of solutions and more than
In India, 88% of Indian business leaders are planning to inves
As we move through 2024, it has become increasingly clear that AI is not ju
HOT PICK
SonicWall Launches TZ80: A Powerful Solution for Remote Office
SonicWall announced today the launch of the TZ80, a groundbreaking securit
Gigabyte X3D Turbo: A Gaming Revolution
GIGABYTE X3D Turbo Mode is a cutting-edge feature that unifies cores distr
MAKE IN INDIA BRANDS
TAC SECURITY SOLUTIONS
EXATRON SERVERS MANUFACTURING PVT. LTD.
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD.
RELIANCE JIO INFOCOMM LTD.
EMINENT CIO'S OF INDIA
ICONS OF INDIA
ICONS OF INDIA : RITESH AGARWAL
Ritesh Agarwal is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur and the founder a...
Icons Of India : AALOK KUMAR
Aalok Kumar is celebrated as a global leader and recipient of the Peop...
ICONS OF INDIA : RAMESH NATRAJAN
Ramesh Natarajan, CEO of Redington Limited, on overcoming ‘technolog...
PARTNER SPEAKERS
PSU
IREDA - Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited
IREDA is a specialized financial institution in India that facilitates...
ITI - ITI Limited
ITI Limited is a leading provider of telecommunications equipment, sol...
NSE - National Stock Exchange
NSE is the leading stock exchange in India....
VIDEOS
Top 25 Brands
Global Indian industry
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - JAY CHAUDHRY, CEO – Zscaler
Jay Chaudhry, an Indian-American technology entrepreneur, is the CEO a...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - NEAL MOHAN, CEO - Youtube
Neal Mohan, the CEO of YouTube, has a bold vision for the platform’s...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - Steve Sanghi, Executive Chair, Microchip
Steve Sanghi, the Executive Chair of Microchip Technology, has been a ...
STARNITE AWARDS 2024
ITFORUM 2024
CMO of the Year
WOMEN LEADERSHIP
IMAGE GALLERY
TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY
MORE VIDEOS
ADVERTISEMENTS
TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION
UNICORNS REVOLUTIONISING
