French Cyber Security Agency has confirmed that phones of two journalists from the Mediapart News Agency were indeed hacked. France government is the first one to confirm unlawful surveillance on certain persons using Pegasus spyware.

French President Emmanuel Macron dialed up Israeli Prime Minister Naftalli Bennett earlier this week and strongly urged him to investigate this scandal.

Israel is clearly feeling the heat with the country’s Defence Ministry officials raiding the office of NSO Group to investigate the security breach.

NSO Group told CNBC-TV18 that it can’t confirm the identity of its customers or the countries that have been banned from using the spyware.

This comes at a time when media reports suggest that NSO Group has barred some countries from using Pegasus temporarily.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz visited France this week and met his counterpart Florence Parly, who had some tough questions.

The Israel defence minister told the French government that Israel is taking the matter with utmost seriousness and Macron's phone was not hacked.

Israel has said that this software is only given to governments for fighting crime and terror. However, France has asked Gantz whether Israel knew about the activities of NSO clients.

CNBC-TV18’s Parikshit Luthra spoke to Omer Kabir, Israeli Journalist and Tech Columnist and spoke about the Israel Defence Ministry's raid on NSO Group and the credibility of the exercise.

For full interview, watch accompanying video...

(Edited by : Bivekananda Biswas)

First Published:Jul 30, 2021 9:22 PM IST