Morocco’s Social Security Agency said this week that personal information has been leaked to telegrams on messaging apps as most of the data was stolen from the system in a cyber attack.
The North African country’s Social Security Fund manages pensions and insurance benefits to millions of private sector workers, from assembly line workers to corporate executives.
In a statement, the preliminary investigation suggests that leaks will occur due to hackers bypassing security systems.
The agency did not say who was believed to be responsible for the hack, but claimed that many of the documents posted were “misleading, inaccurate or incomplete.”
A hacker who posted the document on Telegram said the attack pledged additional cyberattacks if Algerian sites were targeted in response to “harassment” in Algeria’s Morocco on social media platforms.
Moroccan media attributes the attack to Algerian hackers and describes it as an episode of a larger cyber war between the two countries.
Some of the leaked information touches on deep and delicate issues in Morocco.
Among the leaked documents is salary information, if accurate, that reflects the enormous inequality that continues to plague Morocco despite advances in economic development.
Tofove contains unverified financial data on figures related to state-owned businesses, political parties, royal holding companies and charity funds, and figures related to Rabat’s Israeli Liaison Bureau.
Morocco’s National Committee for Personal Data Protection said Thursday it was ready to investigate complaints from people targeting leaks.
Western Sahara conflict
Algeria and Morocco relations have recently deteriorated to a historic low.
The state retracted the ambassador and closed the embassy and their respective airspace.
Algeria’s support for the Polisario front is an independent move that is fighting Morocco over the contested Western Sahara and is one of the root causes of current tensions.
Moroccan government spokesman Mustafa Vitas linked the attacks with what he said was raising support for Morocco in the conflict from the international community.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week that he supported Morocco’s plan for the territories of the statement, a statement that Algeria criticized on Thursday.
President Donald Trump supported Moroccan sovereignty over the territory in 2020, Washington’s longstanding position in 2020.
President Joe Biden’s administration did not reverse the policy and did not openly support it.
