Dozens of journalists 'targeted by Moroccan government' with Pegasus Spyware
Dozens of journalists 'targeted by Moroccan government' with Pegasus Spyware
An iPhone belonging to Moroccan journalist Hicham Mansouri was infected with the Pegasus spyware more than 20 times during a three-month period.
3 min read
Nearly 200 journalists around the world have been selected as targets by NSO clients, according to the Pegasus Project [Getty]
More than 30are thought to have beentargets ofdeveloped by ancompany, according to an explosive reportpublishedon Sunday.
Press freedom group Forbidden Stories andsaid theygained access to a leak of more than 50,000 records of phone numbers that the clients ofIsraeli company NSO Group selected for surveillance. It is believed that the Moroccan government is one of their clients.
Analysis of the records found that at least 180 journalists in 20 countrieswere selected for surveillance.
This includedat least 35 journalists in four countries selected as targets by an NSO client alleged to be t, according to a report by Forbidden Stories.
"The point [of surveillance] is presumably to track the private lives of individuals in order to find a hook on which they can hang any big trial," said Ahmed Benchemsi, a former journalist and founder of the independent media organisations TelQuel, and Nichane,who now leads communications for the MENA region at
Forbidden Stories said forensic analysis was conducted on 67 phones in total, including the phone of. This is the only way of conclusively determine whether a device has been compromised.
The analysis by Amnesty International’s Security Lab found that Mansouri’s previous iPhone had been infected with Pegasus more than 20 timesfrom February to April 2021.
Co-founder of the Moroccan Association of Investigative Journalists (MAIJ), Mansouri was jailed in 2015 for ten months for the crime of "adultery" after his home was raided by authorities. He later fled to France andclaimed asylum.
"We don't see ourselves as dangerous because we do things that we consider to be legitimate," said Mansouri to Forbidden Stories.
Moroccan newspaper editors Taoufik Bouachrine andwere also selected as targets according to reports. Both journalists have also been detained and given lengthy jail sentences- Bouachrine on charges related to human trafficking and sex crimes and Soulaimane for sexual assault.
NSO deniesthe allegations. In a statement sent to,it said it questioned the validity of the data.
The company said that while 50,000 records of phone numbers were obtained by the investigation, forensic analysis to determine whether a phone had been hacked was only conducted on a limited number of devices.
NSO maintains that their products are "sold to vetted foreign governments [and] cannot be used to conduct cyber-surveillance within the United States".
The organisation said they “will continue to investigate all credible claims of misuse and take appropriate action”, stating that they have previously shut down a customers’ system “due to confirmed misuse”.
When asked about the allegations, Moroccan authorities said they "do not understand the context of the request", according toThe Guardian.
The authoritiesadded that previous allegations published by Amnesty International and relayed by Forbidden Stories "have already been the subject of an official response by the Moroccan authorities, who categorically denied such allegations".
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