A former member of Morocco's domestic intelligence service has provided unprecedented insight into how the country used Pegasus spyware to target journalists, human rights defenders, French politicians, and Spanish cabinet ministers and police officers.
Pegasus, developed by Israel-based NSO Group, allows operators to access everything on a target's mobile phone, including emails, messages, and photos, and can activate the camera and microphone.
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Morocco has long denied using Pegasus against critics, but evidence from a whistleblower who worked for the Direction Générale de la Surveillance du Territoire (DGST) for nearly a decade suggests the service began using the spyware in 2017.
The whistleblower, known by the pseudonym Safir, testified that Morocco deployed Pegasus against domestic and foreign targets over four years.
His account forms the basis of a multiyear investigation by Moroccan journalist Hicham Mansouri, supported by Amnesty International's Security Lab and a consortium of 14 media organizations.
According to the investigation, NSO representatives demonstrated Pegasus to Moroccan intelligence officers in a villa in Rabat in 2017.
The source said the house was nicknamed "the FSSYS villa" after FSSYS Maroc, a branch of UAE-based surveillance intermediary al-Fahad.
Those present immediately recognized Pegasus's potential, as its remote-infection capability eliminated the need to physically access targets' phones.
NSO representatives infected test phones, remotely activating cameras and microphones.
The whistleblower suggested the spyware was a gift from the UAE. "Millions for the Emiratis, that's nothing," Safir said.
"The Emirates bought it and redistributed it to friendly services."
