The shadows of Morocco's domestic intelligence service, the Direction Générale de la Surveillance du Territoire (DGST), have long been a source of concern for human rights defenders and journalists in North Africa. Now, a bombshell from within reveals the alarming extent to which Pegasus hacking software has been employed by Moroccan security services against their own citizens and international allies, including French politicians, Spanish cabinet ministers and police officers, since 2017.
Pegasus, developed by the Israel-based NSO Group, is an audacious tool capable of extracting virtually all data from a target's mobile phone, as well as remotely activating its microphone and camera. While NSO Group claims that Pegasus is sold exclusively to governments for combating crime and terrorism, numerous reports have highlighted its misuse in targeting dissidents, journalists, diplomats, and politicians worldwide.
Morocco has repeatedly denied any involvement in using Pegasus to target critics both within the country and abroad, even challenging reporters investigating NSO Group. However, a multi-year investigation led by Moroccan journalist Hicham Mansouri, involving 14 media organisations including Le Monde, Haaretz, and The Guardian, with technical assistance from Amnesty International's Security Lab, has produced damning evidence.
The investigation has analysed leaked emails, targeting records related to Pegasus and other spyware, testimonies from alleged victims, and internal training documents. Corroboration for the account of a former insider, known by the pseudonym Safir, has reportedly come from two other former Moroccan intelligence agents and forensic analysis of the Pegasus project dataset by Amnesty International's Security Lab. The investigation suggests that NSO Group representatives demonstrated Pegasus to high-ranking Moroccan intelligence officers in Rabat in 2017, where its 'revolutionary' remote-infection capabilities were immediately recognised.
According to Safir, the highly expensive spyware was potentially a gift from the UAE, with the arrangement likened to a shared 'Netflix subscription' among friendly services. Prior to adopting Pegasus, the DGST reportedly relied on more traditional intelligence methods, including human intelligence and installing spyware on devices in internet cafes or through complicit shopkeepers. Safir indicated that Pegasus was reserved for high-value targets only after less sophisticated and cheaper surveillance options had been exhausted, raising serious questions about Morocco's respect for human rights and its commitment to democratic values.