Exclusive
Status: 07/20/2021 6:00 p.m.
High-ranking European politicians were also apparently the target of the espionage software “Pegasus”, including the President and members of the French government and EU Council President Michel. The client was possibly Morocco.
By Christian Baars, Florian Flade and Georg Mascolo,
NDR / WDR
The list of telephone data that journalists were able to view as part of the “Pegasus Project” includes the numbers of several high-ranking politicians in Europe. According to the research, they were possible spying targets targeted by customers of the Israeli espionage company NSO. With the NSO software “Pegasus” cell phones can be spied out unnoticed and misused as a bug.
One of at least two cell phone numbers used by French President Emmanuel Macron is listed in the 2019 data. According to information from the newspaper “Le Monde”, he has been using this number since 2017. He could also be reached via it in the past few days. In addition, a number from his immediate environment is on the list: that of his former bodyguard Alexandre Benalla.
In addition, the then Prime Minister Édouard Philippe and several ministers in France should apparently be spied on in 2019, including the still-incumbent cabinet members Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Economics Minister Bruno Le Maire and Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer. The numbers of Gérald Darmanin, then Minister of the Interior and now Minister of the Interior, his predecessor in the Interior Department, Christophe Castaner, and the Minister of Justice at the time, Nicole Belloubet, were also found.
“Pegasus Project”
The focus of the research is the software “Pegasus”, which was developed by the Israeli company NSO. According to its own information, it only makes the program available to government agencies for the prosecution of criminals or terrorists.
As part of the “Pegasus Project”, journalists analyzed a list of more than 50,000 telephone numbers to which the Paris-based non-profit organization Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International had access. The numbers are destinations that customers of the company have entered as possible destinations for monitoring activities.
The weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, were involved in the research in Germany. NDR and WDR. Worldwide media such as the “Washington Post” in the USA, the British “Guardian” and “Le Monde” in France were involved. The collaboration was coordinated by Forbidden Stories. Amnesty International’s Security Lab provided technical support and cell phone forensic analysis.
Proof of “Pegasus” on a minister’s cell phone
In addition, during their research on the “Pegasus Project”, the journalists were able to identify the numbers of other high-ranking politicians in Europe: those of the former Belgian Prime Minister and current President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and his father Louis Michel, who was a member of the European Parliament until 2019 and there Chairman of the joint parliamentary group of the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the EU.
Whether or not all of the people were actually spied on could not be verified in individual cases. It would be necessary to check the respective devices for traces of the software. However, the then French Environment Minister François de Rugy agreed to an analysis of his telephone. IT security experts from the human rights organization Amnesty International were able to prove that the “Pegasus” software was actually active on his mobile phone in July 2019.
No comment from Macron
Neither Macron nor the French government wanted to comment on the revelations. Regarding Macron, however, employees of the foreign intelligence service DGSE told the newspaper “Le Monde” that he was communicating via a mobile phone with special encryption software. However, the president is seen repeatedly with an iPhone on which this software cannot be installed. It was not possible to conclusively determine which specific device the number found in the data belongs to.
In France, traces of “Pegasus” were also found on the phones of several journalists, such as those of the head of the investigative portal Mediapart, Edwy Plenel. He filed a complaint about it on Monday. The Paris public prosecutor’s office is now investigating various possible charges, including violation of personal rights, illegal use of data and illegal sale of spy software.
Traces lead to Morocco
Moroccan authorities may be behind the alleged spying attacks in France and on the Belgians Charles and Louis Michel. The research of the “Pegasus Project” showed that the traces lead to the origin of the surveillance attempts in the North African country. It is unclear what the reason for the possible espionage could be.
The Moroccan government did not respond to any aspect of a request. The Paris embassy in Morocco only reported in general terms that these were “unfounded allegations” that had already been “categorically rejected” in the past. The Moroccan government and its authorities have “never acquired computer software” to “infiltrate communication devices”. The Moroccan authorities have never resorted to such acts, she wrote in a statement.
As early as the summer of 2020, analyzes by Amnesty International had shown that the mobile phone of the Moroccan journalist Omar Radi had been infected with “Pegasus”. Even then, it was not possible to conclusively clarify who was behind the attack. However, according to Amnesty International, there were many indications that it was the Moroccan secret service.
NSO rejects reports
The manufacturer of the “Pegasus” software, NSO, does not comment on specific customers. In general, upon request, she informed the media involved in the “Pegasus Project” that the reports were “full of false assumptions and unconfirmed theories”.
In a recent statement, an NSO spokesman wrote that the telephone list was falsified information. It is not a list of goals or possible goals for NSO customers. The company also has no access to its customers’ data. But he could assure that Emmanuel Macron was never a target or a possible target of NSO customers.
The company had previously rejected claims that many politicians and journalists could have been spied on using the “Pegasus” program. She says she only sells her technology to government agencies that fight terrorism and crime and investigate any credible evidence of abuse. NSO could then take appropriate measures, such as turning off customer systems. This has already happened several times in the past.
Moritz Baumstieger, Kristof Clerix, Elodie Guégen, Damien Leloup, Kristiana Ludwig, Nadia Pantel and Gero von Randow were involved in the research for this text.