A bus from the NGO Amnesty International - Kriz Krystof / AP / SIPA

The NGO Amnesty International said on Monday that the controversial spy software from the Israeli firm NSO was used to spy on a Moroccan journalist in January. This Israeli company specializing in computer espionage notably produces Pegasus, a software allowing not only to access data from a smartphone, but to take control of the camera or microphone.

NSO Group's Pegasus is smartphone spyware. It gives an attacker complete access to a phone's messages, media, microphone, camera, calls and contacts. @omarradi is latest of scores of activists to be targeted. This needs to stop. pic.twitter.com/MXpV463AYt

- Amnesty International (@amnesty) June 22, 2020

According to the human rights organization, the Moroccan authorities used this program to spy on the phone of Omar Radi, a Moroccan journalist. The company said it was "deeply disturbed by the allegations. "

An internal investigation?

“It is clear that we cannot trust the NSO group. As the company attempts to whitewash its image with a public relations campaign, its software illegally spies on journalist Omar Radi, "said Danna Ingleton, deputy director of Amnesty Tech. The firm said it could not comment on the ties its group "may have with the Moroccan authorities" for reasons of confidentiality but was studying the issues raised by Amnesty.

"An investigation will be opened if we deem it justified", says the company, which declares that it is "the first […] of its kind to provide a program for the implementation of the United Nations guiding principles on business and human rights ”. According to Amnesty, Omar Radi was "systematically targeted by the Moroccan authorities because of his journalism and his activism".

Sentenced to suspended prison

In March, a Moroccan court sentenced Omar Radi to a four-month suspended prison sentence for criticizing a judge on Twitter. He had said he would appeal after the verdict. "If the Moroccan authorities are ultimately responsible for the illegal hacking of activists and journalists like Omar Radi, NSO Group has contributed to these abuses by keeping the Moroccan government as an active client at least until January 2020," added Amnesty. .

The NGO asked an Israeli court to revoke the export license of the firm's Ministry of Defense following the hacking cases. The case is ongoing and Amnesty said on Monday that it is awaiting a decision soon.

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  • Journalism
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  • Software
  • Spying
  • Amnesty international