Saudi Arabia Denies Using Malware to Spy on Communications

The official Saudi TV has quoted a well-placed official source, saying that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) denies what was reported by the media outlets in some countries about "Saudi Arabia's use of special malware to spy on communications.

The source pointed out that these allegations are unfounded at all as the Kingdom's approach and policy do not recognize such practices.

However, the French newspaper "Le Monde" claimed that "Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ( UAE) used the "Pegasus" spy program developed by the Israeli company named NSO to shadow senior Lebanese politicians.

On the other hand, the Moroccan government condemned what it described as "false allegations" about its security services' use of the Israeli "Pegasus" program to spy on journalists' phones.

The Moroccan government expressed its readiness to provide "realistic, scientific" evidence to negate such allegations.

The Moroccan government announced that it "rejects these false allegations, and denounces them in whole and in detail.

It stressed that it has never acquired such malware to intrude on communication devices, nor has the public authorities carried out such actions.

An investigation published by several media outlets, including the newspapers "Le Monde", "the UK Guardian" and the US Washington Post", stated that "a Moroccan security service used the "Pegasus" program developed by the Israeli company (NSO) to spy on about 30 people, who are journalists and officials in French media organizations.

The program, if it succeeds in penetrating the smartphone, allows access to messages, photos, and contacts and even listens to the owner's communications.