23.01.2020
14
BUSINESS
Jeff Bezos reportedly hacked by Saudi
crown prince Mohammed bin Salman
BILLIONAIRE Amazon
boss Jeff Bezos reported-
ly had his phone hacked
in 2018 after receiving a
Whatsapp message from the
crown prince of Saudi Ara-
bia Mohammed bin Salman.
An encrypted message
from the number used by the
de facto Saudi ruler included
a malicious file that infiltrat-
ed Bezos' phone, e Guard-
ian reported.
It said digital forensic anal-
ysis that found it "highly
probable" that the intrusion
into the phone was triggered
by a message sent from bin
Salman's account.
e pair had been having a
conversation on Whatsapp
on 1 May 2018 when the un-
solicited file was sent, the re-
port said, citing anonymous
sources.
Large amounts of data were
reportedly exported from
Bezos' phone within hours.
e Saudis had previous-
ly denied accessing Bezos'
phone.
Digital experts started ex-
amining the billionaire's
phone last January after
nude photos of Bezos and
racy messages were leaked
to tabloid the National En-
quirer.
e alleged hack occurred
five months before the mur-
der of Washington Post
journalist Jamal Khashoggi
who was killed after being
lured to the Saudi embassy
in Istanbul.
Bezos owns the Washing-
ton Post which often fea-
tured columns critical of the
Saudi government by the ex-
iled journalist.
e Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) of the US con-
cluded that bin Salman or-
dered Khashoggi's murder,
but the Saudi government
has blamed rogue elements.
In December a Saudi court
sentenced five men to death
and three men to jail for the
murder, but exonerated the
crown prince and his inner
circle.
Jeff Bezos
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman
