Algorithmic Surveillance and Digital Occupation: Pegasus Spyware and Artificial Intelligence Targeting Systems in Kashmir and Palestine

Abstract

Surveillance technologies have evolved into powerful instruments of digital repression, with Pegasus spyware serving as a prime example of how advanced cyber tools are deployed to monitor, control, and suppress targeted populations. This thesis examines the use of Pegasus in Palestine and Kashmir, arguing that Israel employs Palestine as a testing ground for spyware development before exporting it globally, while India adopts Pegasus to suppress separatist movements and consolidate political control in Kashmir. This reflects a broader pattern in which military occupation enables the refinement of digital surveillance industries, transforming spyware from a national security asset into a globally traded tool of repression. The study integrates technical analysis, forensic investigation, and comparative case studies to assess Pegasus’s infiltration methods, operational mechanisms, and geopolitical impact. By analyzing how zero-click exploits, AI-driven targeting systems, and mass biometric surveillance are weaponized in occupied and contested regions, this research highlights the increasing entanglement between state surveillance, corporate interests, and digital authoritarianism. Ultimately, this thesis situates Pegasus within the broader framework of AI-driven warfare and global surveillance capitalism, emphasizing how unregulated spyware markets enable mass human rights violations. As AI-powered targeting systems such as Lavender and The Gospel follow the trajectory of Pegasus, the findings of this study serve as a warning about the future of surveillance governance. If left unchecked, these technologies will continue to erode civil liberties, expand algorithmic state control, and normalize digital repression worldwide. Addressing this challenge requires urgent international oversight, corporate accountability, and stronger legal safeguards to prevent the unchecked proliferation of spyware and its role in shaping global security and power structures.