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French President Emmanuel Macron called an urgent national security meeting on Thursday – after his own phone was identified as a potential target for Israeli spyware Pegasus.
A group of international media organizations discovered that Pegasus, licensed by Israeli tech company NSO Group, had been used in hacking smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and activists around the world, including France.
Macron called for a series of investigations after the The world reported that one of his phone numbers, along with those of 15 members of the French government, was on a list of potential targets in 2019.
However, without analyzing Macron’s phone himself, reporters could not confirm whether a successful hack had taken place.
Hacking from Morocco
Evidence of an attempt was found on a device used by the former Minister of the Environment François de Rugy, close to Macron.
The use of the spyware to target French officials is said to originate from Morocco, which has also been accused of targeting several high-profile French journalists with the software.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation following complaints filed by the Mediapart news site and the satirical newspaper The chained Duck.
The Moroccan government said it “has never acquired computer software to infiltrate communications devices.”
Journalists from Radio France discovered that King Mohammed VI of Morocco and other members of the royal family were targeted by a Moroccan client of NSO.
Refusal
The NSO group has denied that Macron was among its clients’ targets.
The company and Israel’s Defense Ministry, which oversees its exports, say Pegasus is intended for use in tracking down terrorists and criminals, and that the only foreign clients are approved governments.
ONS chief Shalev Hulio told IDF Radio on Thursday that the company had worked with 45 countries and rejected around 90 others as potential customers, and had also shut down five Pegasus systems for abuse. .
(With son)
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