Spanish Journalist Claims Morocco Hacked Phone in Diplomatic Crisis

"I suspected something was going on since the beginning of the recent crisis between Spain and Morocco because two of my WhatsApp conversations with senior officials of the Spanish administration appeared in a Moroccan newspaper, even though I had not discussed them with anyone. Those who published this information had access to my mobile phone," explains the Spanish journalist, Ignacio Cembrero, to 20minutos.

The journalist, who admits that he has "noticed nothing" strange on his phone, tries to find a justification for this act of espionage that he attributes to Morocco. The kingdom’s interest would be to be informed of his conversations with "many Spanish personalities and senior officials with responsibilities in the government, the military..." "Once they have the phone number, they can infiltrate," explains Cembrero, who feels his security is threatened.

To read: Morocco Denies Involvement in NSO Spyware Allegations Amid Journalist Surveillance Claims

"I feel very unprotected, because we are dealing with a foreign secret service with very sophisticated software, Pegasus, which is almost undetectable. I don’t know where to turn. Help me. I have contacted a private company to see if they can lend me a hand," added the journalist, who does not intend to file a complaint. "What I need are experienced people to help me protect my phone and laptop," the journalist insists.

According to a joint investigation conducted by 17 media outlets, including The Guardian, Le Monde or The Washington Post, with the support of Amnesty International and a French NGO, more than 50,000 phone numbers, including 180 belonging to journalists, would have been hacked between 2016 and June 2021 with the Pegasus hacking software, developed by the Israeli surveillance company NSO Group.