Israel has set up a senior inter-ministerial team to assess growing allegations that the spy system sold by an Israeli cyber firm has been abused on a global scale.
According to Reuters, a source said the team is led by Israel’s National Security Council, which reports to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and has broader areas of expertise than the Ministry of Defense, which oversees NSO Group’s Pegasus software exports.
Another source said that the National Security Council is not involved and that the assessment is being carried out by senior defense, intelligence and diplomatic officials. Both sources requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
“This event is beyond the competence of the Ministry of Defense, “Said the first source, referring to the possible diplomatic return following media reports this week of alleged Pegasus abuses in France, Mexico, India, Morocco and Iraq.
On Wednesday, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said French President Emmanuel Macron had called for a series of investigations into the Spyware Pegasus case. Macron’s phone was on a list of possible targets for possible surveillance on behalf of Morocco in the Pegasus case, French newspaper Le Monde said on Tuesday.
The head of Mexico’s financial intelligence unit, Santiago Nieto, said the current government had not signed contracts with companies used to buy Pegasus, but added that the previous Mexican administration had done so as a “tactic of control, intimidation and manipulation.” .
A global investigation published Sunday by 17 media organizations, led by the Paris-based nonprofit journalism group, said Pegasus had been used in the attempted and successful attacks on smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and activists. human rights.
The NSO has dismissed reports from media partners, saying it was “full of erroneous assumptions and unconfirmed theories”. The Pegasus is intended to be used only by government intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism and crime, according to the NSO.
