New Pegasus spyware revelations as French PM visits Morocco
Investigators say email traces linked Morocco to surveillance of French ministers and Macron’s phone, as the spyware review revived questions about a 2017 NSO meeting.
- On Thursday, the Forbidden Stories consortium published revelations that Morocco's Directorate General for Surveillance of the Territory used Israeli-manufactured Pegasus spyware to monitor high-ranking French officials and other foreign targets.
- Representatives from the Israeli firm NSO Group introduced Pegasus to the DGST in 2017 during a 10-day stay at a villa in Rabat, according to whistleblower Safir, who suggested the software was a gift from the UAE.
- Leaked targeting records and Amnesty International Security Lab analysis show the DGST used Pegasus against journalists, dissidents, and officials from France and Spain, including defense minister Margarita Robles and interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
- Morocco rejected the espionage allegations, demanding proof from reporters, while a spokesperson for President Emmanuel Macron stated the government aims to build 'trust' and address 'common security challenges' with Rabat.
- Global oversight tightened after the Biden administration blacklisted NSO Group in 2021, reportedly prompting Israel to restrict cyber-technology exports to countries including Morocco and the UAE, coinciding with the end of DGST's Pegasus deployment.
39 Articles
39 Articles
Moroccan authorities attempted to spy on journalists, including a Dutch correspondent, with the help of hacking software. This is reported by the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, based on a list it has obtained containing mobile numbers that the Moroccan intelligence service tried to hack between 2018 and 2019.
The newspaper El Confidencial has obtained a list of 250 devices that the Moroccan secret service allegedly targeted. It is unclear whether the phones were actually hacked. According to Amnesty, a forensic report is usually required for that.
Moroccan whistleblower reveals how Rabat used Israel's Pegasus spyware for surveillance
Moroccan whistleblower reveals how Rabat used Israel's Pegasus spyware for surveillance Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 07/17/2026 - 13:58 Testimony from intelligence insider and leaked records show extensive use of spyware against dissidents and foreign officials Morocco's then interior minister, Abdelouafi Laftit (left), receives his Spanish counterpart, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, during his official visit to Rabat on 20 November 2020 (Fade…
Five years after the Pegasus scandal, a new investigation published on July 16, 2026, by the Forbidden Stories consortium has reignited the affair by revealing that France had considered acquiring the Israeli spyware at the very moment when ministers were allegedly targeted. While French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was on an official visit to Morocco, a country implicated as early as 2021 for the alleged use of Pegasus against several Frenc…
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