Headed by the Washington Post, French Le Monde, German Süddeutsche, Indian The Wire, Mexican Proceso, Israeli Haaretz and nine others, a report focusing on the French organization Forbidden Stories found that at least 180 journalists from 20 different countries were the target of “client governments” of the Israeli cyber-surveillance firm NSO.
Spyware or spyware customers “range from autocratic (Saudi Arabia) to democracy (India and Mexico) and cover the whole world”, including Europe and Africa (below, map of Forbidden Stories).
In the WP, extensive coverage pointed out that the wife of Jamal Khashoggi, who was a columnist for the newspaper and was assassinated by the Saudi government in 2018, “was targeted by spyware six months before her death.” And that of Khashoggi’s fiancée too, “days after death”.
The New York Times published its own article, reporting that after Khashoggi’s death, the NSO “terminated its contract with Saudi Arabia” but “a few months later it was again doing business with Saudi Arabia “. According to the newspaper, the Israeli government “encourages”.
In Le Monde, the greatest attention was paid to journalists spied on in France, including one from the newspaper itself, and in Morocco. In Süddeutsche, the “surveillance state” of neighboring Hungary. On Wire, the 40 Indian names on the list.
In Proceso and also in the Mexican Aristegui Noticias, “the unbridled espionage” of the former president Peña Nieto.
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