Status: 23.07.2021 02:21 a.m.
Chancellor Merkel has spoken out in favor of restricting the sale of the “Pegasus” spying software. Usage is now being investigated in Israel. In France, President Macron met with his defense cabinet.
In the Pegasus affair, Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for a sales restriction for the spyware. “I believe that it is important that software designed for certain situations does not fall into the wrong hands,” said Merkel.
In Israel, where the Pegasus producer NSO is based, export restrictions are now being discussed. Media from several countries recently reported that the software had been used to spy on journalists and government officials, among other things.
A cell phone number of French President Emmanuel Macron is on a list of potential eavesdropping targets. According to the Paris Presidential Office, this has now been equipped with a new cell phone and a new number.
Israel opens investigation
Merkel stated that the sale of the software must be tied to restrictive conditions. It should not be delivered to countries “in which judicial surveillance of such attacks may not be secured”. Merkel herself had been spied on by the US secret service NSA years ago by other means, which she criticized again.
The software manufacturer NSO had stated that the Pegasus program was intended solely for the use of secret services and the police in the fight against terrorism and crime. According to insiders, a task force with representatives from various ministries is now investigating the events in Israel. It was initially considered unlikely that this would result in export restrictions for the program.
But the chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign policy and defense, Ram Ben-Barak, called for a review of the export licenses. The government’s findings on Pegasus would be scrutinized by parliament. Then it will be decided whether there is a need for action. Ben-Barak, once a member of the Mossad intelligence agency, added that the proper use of Pegasus has helped many people.
Special meeting in France
The presidential office in Paris reported that the replacement of Macron’s cell phone was an additional security measure. It does not mean that he was spied on. Macron has several phone numbers. The president had previously discussed with his defense cabinet at a special meeting.
Among other things, the newspaper “Le Monde” reported that a cell phone number of the head of state was on a list of potential eavesdropping targets. In addition, the former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and 14 ministers were listed as possible targets on behalf of Morocco in 2019. The North African country rejects the allegations.
Morocco wants to sue journalists
On Thursday, according to media reports, Morocco announced defamation lawsuits against the non-profit editor Forbidden Stories, which led the research on Pegasus. The AFP news agency reported that Amnesty International should also be sued.
In the meantime, investigations into Pegasus have been initiated in Hungary. The public prosecutor announced that the question of whether the software had been used illegally will be investigated. The investigative website Direkt36 reported a list of more than 300 phone numbers that Pegasus may have targeted.
In addition to journalists, entrepreneurs and lawyers, the numbers also belonged to critics of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government. Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said all intelligence gathering was law-abiding.