Israeli Spyware Firm Quadream Pitches to Morocco Amid Pegasus Scandal

The NSO company is accused of having sold its Pegasus espionage software to governments, including that of Morocco, which would have used it to spy not only on criminals and terrorists, but also on journalists, human rights activists and political leaders such as the French President Emmanuel Macron. This Pegasus affair, revealed in July by the publication of the investigation carried out by the network of journalists Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International, has also harmed Morocco, accused from all sides of espionage using the Pegasus software. However, there is officially no cooperation between Morocco and NSO, according to Israel Noticia.

After the outbreak of this affair, Morocco would have accelerated the negotiations with Quadream, a competitor of NSO, in order to use its espionage systems which offer more comparative advantages than those of NSO, subject to the regulatory control of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Quadream offers the same espionage and cyber attack systems as NSO, with the ability to install the spy software on the target’s phone or computer without contacting them. Quadream, whose development center is located in Israel, is not subject to Israeli laws as is the case with NSO. The company sells its products through another offshore Cypriot company called InReach. Thus, Quadream can sell its products to individuals and non-governmental entities.

The Pegasus affair has not only triggered a dispute between Israel and Morocco, but has also caused a diplomatic crisis between Morocco and France. French President Emmanuel Macron was forced to change his mobile phone number and his electronic signature after the publication of the Forbidden Stories investigation by the French newspaper Le Monde. For its part, Morocco has always denied these allegations and has even filed a complaint against Amnesty and Forbidden Stories in several countries such as France, Germany and Spain. The hearing before the Paris court is scheduled for October.