Moroccan Pegasus Surveillance Network Exposed
The Moroccan intelligence agency, DGST, allegedly employed not merely Pegasus spyware but a comprehensive surveillance apparatus to monitor journalists and human rights defenders. According to Amnesty International, this clandestine operation encompassed the bugging of premises, hidden cameras, location tracking, and direct physical access to personal devices.
The Whistleblower’s Revelations
A pivotal source for this investigation was a former DGST operative using the pseudonym Safir. He revealed that intelligence agents infected computers in internet cafes and surreptitiously installed spyware on smartphones. Furthermore, certain retail outlets purportedly sold seemingly brand-new, yet already compromised, telephones to specific targets.
Deploying Advanced Spyware
For remote surveillance, the agency utilized Pegasus, developed by the NSO Group. Amnesty intrinsically links this system to the DGST, asserting its deployment against journalists and activists from at least 2017 to 2021. The infections occurred via malicious hyperlinks, zero-click attacks, and the interception of network traffic. Experts had previously detected a similar intrusion on the mobile device of journalist Omar Radi.
Targeting the Civil Society
Investigators successfully associated 103 Moroccan telephone numbers, added to the Pegasus targeting list between September and December 2017, with specific individuals. Among the owners were 34 human rights defenders, 22 journalists and media personnel, alongside lawyers, politicians, diplomats, and prominent figures within the academic community.
A History of Digital Espionage
The investigation indicates that Morocco procured surveillance technologies from entities beyond the NSO Group. Previously, state structures employed solutions from Hacking Team, FinFisher, and various other vendors. A profound data leak from Hacking Team in 2015 definitively exposed the corporation’s illicit ties with Moroccan clientele.
Moroccan authorities have historically denied deploying spyware against their citizenry. Prior to the publication of this sweeping investigation, Amnesty forwarded their conclusive findings to the government; however, they received no formal response.
