Morocco allegedly attempted to spy on Dutch journalist
Moroccan authorities allegedly attempted to spy on a Dutch journalist using the Israeli-made Pegasus hacking software. The Moroccan domestic security service, known as the DGST, allegedly carried out the operation.
The Spanish newspaper El Confidencial obtained a list of phone numbers that Moroccan intelligence allegedly tried to hack between 2018 and 2019. The list included 768 cyberattack attempts on 250 Spanish numbers. The phone number of Koen Greven appeared on a target list. He served for years as an NRC correspondent in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. He is now a sports editor at the ANP news agency.
Those attempts formed part of a much larger campaign. The operation continued until the end of 2021. In total, Morocco allegedly tried to hack more than 12,000 devices across more than 20 countries.
The spyware in question was Pegasus. It was developed by the Israeli company NSO Group. Once installed, Pegasus can secretly access messages, photos, microphone audio, and camera footage.
Greven said he can easily understand why his number was listed. He frequently traveled to Morocco and reported on protests in the Rif mountains in the north of the country.
Greven told ANP, "The security service once asked me to leave the country."
In a 2018 column for NRC, he wrote that Moroccan security services traveled with him on reporting trips.
Greven does not know whether his phone was actually hacked. He no longer uses the Spanish number that appeared on the list and plans to take no further action.
Morocco has previously denied using Pegasus. After earlier revelations, the country filed lawsuits against several European media outlets. Those lawsuits were unsuccessful, El Confidencial reported.
