PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2021) French President Emmanuel Macron has changed his cell phone and SIM card after reports that he was targeted by Pegasus spyware, France Info radio station reported on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Macron also held an emergency cybersecurity meeting to weigh possible actions. Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said that the president was "taking the matter very seriously."
Last week, a consortium of prominent media outlets in cooperation with several NGOs published the results of a joint investigation which revealed that Pegasus, developed by Israel's NSO Group, had been used by government-linked clients to hack at least 50,000 phone numbers in various countries. A majority belonged to prominent politicians, human rights activists, lawyers, journalists and business executives.
Among those targeted, according to the report, were such top-level state officials as Macron, Iraqi President Barham Salih, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and European Council President Charles Michel and many others.
On Tuesday, the French prosecutor's office launched an investigation into the case.
