French state officials have contacted NSO, the Israeli company that made the Pegasus software that dictators use to spy on political opponents
An explosive revelation that comes at the wrong time for the French state which, for almost a month, has been weakened by a real diplomatic crisis. Alas, the setbacks seem to have not yet known their epilogue and the new revelation made by Europe 1 risk of throwing oil on the fire.
Indeed, Lecourrier-du-soir.com learned this October 02 from the media Europe 1 that the French state almost bought the Pegasus software, a formidable spy software made by Israel and which has allowed many dictatorships to spy on opponents’ telephone or computer devices.
Ironically, France, a great democracy, has yet entered into negotiations with the NSO company, as the source reveals. So, Europe 1 will say: “this Israeli company is not so unknown to the French government. Indeed, according to information from Europe 1 and Cnews, six months before the affair, several state services were in commercial discussions with the company NSO. ”
And to add: “in reality, it was a little over a year and a half that France was trying to acquire a tool of this type. For a reason: no French company is able to provide such a service. The intelligence services have great difficulty breaking the encrypted codes of messengers such as Telegram, WhatsApp or Signal. ”
Also according to the source, in France, several state officials came into contact with the NSO company. “They even went very far in trade negotiations: on the verge of signing a contract, they asked Emmanuel Macron in person to decide, the subject being ultra-sensitive”, informs Europe 1. Emmanuel Macron finally decided. His answer was a categorical “no”.
It should be noted that the Pegasus software has caused a general outcry in the international press in recent months. Moreover, last July, several journalists revealed that the newspaper’s editorial staff The world as well as 16 other media had access to 50,000 telephone numbers potentially targeted by Pegasus.
In France, among the journalists spied on, are Edwy Plenel of Médiapart and Dominique Simonnot (ex Canard Enchaîné). Later, it was revealed in the press that Emmanuel Macron, Jean-Michel Blanquer and other personalities were also targeted by the software.
In the Arab world, the software is highly prized by political leaders. Thus, in Morocco, the government would have used it to spy on the opponent, Omar Radi. And in 2018, shortly after Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination, whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the Saudi government used this software to trick Khashoggi before ending his life in the way we all know.
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