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Denver – France has unleashed an unprecedented smear campaign against Morocco in the wake of recent allegations, in which Morocco is one of many nations accused of abusing Pegasus spyware developed by Israeli security firm NSO Group.
NGOs Amnesty International, Forbidden Stories and its media partners published a report which the organizations claimed is based on a massive data leak. The report claims that activists, journalists and lawyers across the world have been targeted by governments using hacking software by NSO Group’s Pegasus software.
NSO’s hacking spyware Pegasus infects mobile devices to enable operators to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly activate microphones.
A list of 50,000 phone numbers have been identified by the NGOs’ ‘Pegasus Project’ as the potential targets of surveillance by NSO’s government clients.
The Kingdom of Morocco — accused of having abused the NSO spyware to spy on journalists and public officials — has come under considerable fire from the French media, despite being just one of forty countries accused of purchasing the spyware.
Morocco has so far denied having used Pegasus to hack the phones of the individuals named in the list, while the report suggests that the nation’s security services have used the spyware on over 10,000 numbers.
Prosecutors in Paris opened an investigation into Moroccan intelligence services on July 20, alleging that Morocco has used Pegasus software to spy on several French journalists.
The Moroccan government continues to strongly deny the allegations, labelling them “baseless.” Moroccan Judicial Police and Public Prosecutor Office expressed outrage at the manner in which the Western media has smeared the country’s reputation despite an absence of conclusive evidence corroborating their “unfounded accusations.”
The report’s claims will likely receive renewed attention after both the French and Moroccan governments have filed legal suits on the matter. Yet while the slow process of legal proceedings advances the nation continues to be attacked in the media with vigour, while Western governments who purchased Pegasus spyware are completely left out of the public discussion.
With Morocco’s recent bout of assertive foreign policy, reinforced by the US’ recognition of Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara, the nation is enjoying a row of diplomatic victories. Morocco’s position as a North African regional power has never been more formidable, with positive economic growth even amidst the global standstill caused by the pandemic.
Yet it appears that Morocco’s growing diplomatic and economic clout has made it a target for renewed efforts to attack the country’s reputation. Recent efforts by the EU to blame Morocco for its bilateral diplomatic crisis with Spain drew widespread condemnation from both the African Union and the Arab League’s top bodies.
The consortium of media giants have revealed that 40 countries have acquired the now infamous spyware, manufactured by the Israeli company. However, only 11 nations are listed in the report and as such have made headlines in the recent media storm. The involved NGOs have neglected to reveal the remaining 29 countries while making direct accusations against the other 11 that tarnish the countries’ reputations.
With Morocco situated in the backyard of Europe, it appears to be part of a pattern of allegations being flung strategically at nations in order to “destabilize” them for Western gain as the head of the French Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Committee today highlighted.
French newspaper Le Monde is one of several Western media outlets who have been quick to draw speculative connections between the 10,000 phone numbers allegedly targeted by Moroccan intelligence services. Many involved in the intelligence sector of Morocco’s government would dispute this alleged connection purely on the basis that Morocco doesn’t even have the manpower needed to monitor that many people.
Meanwhile, NSO denies having any connection to the leaked phone numbers, asserting that “the numbers in the list are not related to NSO group” in an official press release entitled “Enough is Enough!”
It seems that 29 countries are currently sitting untouched in the eye of a media storm, while Morocco is swept up in a destructive whirlwind of allegations. Only time will tell if Morocco stands to be vindicated in the international spotlight.
