France Reportedly Launches Probe Into Complaints Linked to Israeli Spyware Scandal

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Paris prosecutor's office said on Tuesday it is opening an investigation after French journalists filed complaints in which they claim to be among targets of the Israeli-made Pegasus software allegedly used to hack phones of reporters and activists around the world, media reported.

Complainants are Edwy Plenel, a founder of the French investigative media outlet Mediapart, and reporter Lenaig Bredoux. In addition, Mediapart itself filed a complaint about the spyware scandal, according to the Franceinfo broadcaster, which is one of 17 media outlets behind the journalistic investigation.

The French probe involves such charges as "invasion of privacy," "fraudulent access" to a computer system, and "interception of correspondence," among others.

On Sunday, the consortium of prominent media outlets in cooperation with several NGOs published the results of their investigation exposing a list of more than 50,000 phone numbers of prominent individuals worldwide potentially targeted for surveillance by state-linked clients of Israeli cyberintelligence firm NSO Group, the developer of the Pegasus software.

The investigation prompted international dismay.