Spyware row widens as probes mount

Nations look into software claims drawing in 14 leaders, and Macron ditches phone

Hungary, Israel and Algeria on Thursday probed allegations that Israeli-made spyware was used on 14 heads of state, journalists and rights activists, as French President Emmanuel Macron ordered tighter security and changed his phone over espionage concerns.

Macron — whose name was on a list of alleged targets — ordered "a strengthening of all security protocols" following a specially convened meeting of the nation's Defense Council, his office said.

Macron "has himself changed his phone and number for certain exchanges", it said, in one of the first concrete actions announced in relation to the scandal.

The NSO Group's Pegasus software — able to switch on a phone's camera or microphone and harvest its data — is at the center of a growing storm after a list of about 50,000 potential surveillance targets was leaked to the media.

The widening scandal is drawing in countries from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to Morocco, India and a host of other mostly emerging economies.

Other world leaders on a list of possible targets include Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Morocco's King Mohammed VI, Reuters reported.

Hungary was the only European Union country listed as a potential user of the spyware, with hundreds of targets including journalists, lawyers and other public figures.

Hungarian prosecutors said on Thursday they had opened a probe "to establish the facts and to determine whether and, if so, what crime has taken place", the Budapest Regional Investigation Prosecutor's Office said.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has insisted the government "has no knowledge of such data collection", while some critics decried the move as a time-wasting maneuver.

The NSO insists its software is intended only for use in fighting terrorism and other crimes, and that it exports to 45 countries, with approval from the Israeli government.

The Israeli government said it has set up a commission to review the software.

The priority was "to review this whole matter of giving licenses", Israeli lawmaker Ram Ben Barak, a former deputy head of the Mossad spy agency, told Army Radio.

NSO vows to investigate

Pegasus had "exposed many terror cells", he said, but "if it was misused or sold to irresponsible bodies, this is something we need to check".

The NSO would "be very pleased if there were an investigation, so that we'd be able to clear our name" ,Chief Executive Shalev Hulio told Army Radio on Thursday.

Algeria on Thursday expressed "deep concern" following press reports that it may have been the target of the spyware as it launched a probe.

The Foreign Ministry denounced what it termed an "inadmissible, systematic attack on human rights and fundamental freedoms" and singled out neighboring Morocco for "spying on Algerian officials and citizens".

Morocco and Algeria have repeatedly sparred over the disputed region of Western Sahara, which Morocco considers an integral part of its territory while Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario movement.

Ties between the two neighbors soured again on Sunday after Algeria recalled its ambassador in Morocco for consultations after Morocco's envoy to the United Nations expressed support for self-determination for Algeria's Kabylie region.

Meanwhile, evidence of an attempted hacking was found on the phone of former French environment minister and close Macron ally Francois de Rugy, with the attempt allegedly originating in Morocco, according to the media reports.

Morocco has rejected these allegations. A French lawyer for Morocco, Olivier Baratelli, said the government planned to lodge defamation lawsuits in Paris against two organizations that revealed the list, according to French news outlet franceinfo on Thursday.

Morocco "does not intend to let the multiple lies and fake news spread these past few days go unpunished", said Baratelli.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also dismissed allegations of their involvement.

Agencies via Xinhua