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JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron that alleged abuse of spyware developed by an Israeli company, including against Macron, will be “discreetly”, an Israeli official said Monday .
Israel has investigated whether the Pegasus software from cyber firm NSO Group, which can hack phones and which the company claims is intended for audited law enforcement and intelligence agencies, has been misused worldwide. The Israel Defense Ministry oversees the export of offensive cyber tools such as Pegasus.
In July, several international media organizations reported that Pegasus was being used to hack smartphones by journalists, human rights activists and government officials in several countries.
NSO rejected the reports, saying they were “full of false assumptions and unconfirmed theories”. Pegasus was intended only for government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and crime, NSO said.
Macron’s phone was on a list of potential surveillance targets with Moroccan Pegasus software, French newspaper Le Monde reported. Morocco has denied the allegations, stating that it does not own Pegasus.
Political cartoons about world leaders
Macron called for an investigation.
Bennett and Macron met during the UN climate change conference in Glasgow and discussed global challenges, with Iran’s nuclear program topping the list, Bennett’s office said.
An Israeli diplomatic official who refused to be identified said the NSO issue had also been discussed.
“The heads of state and government have agreed that the issue will continue to be dealt with discretely and professionally and in a spirit of transparency between the two sides,” the official said.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Copyright 2021 Thomson Reuters.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-11-01/israel-france-to-handle-nso-spyware-case-discreetly-israeli-official-says
