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A bizarre story unfolds today as the UN claims that Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon and the richest person on Earth, may be the victim of phone hacking by Saudis.
Bezos owns the Washington Post. Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, was killed in 2018 by operatives presumed to be working for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Turkey. He was there to tend to issues with his passport.
Following the UN investigation, experts with the international body requested “immediate investigation” into the hack. They also wanted to investigate Saudi conduct surrounding the killing of Khashoggi.
As a contributor for the Washington Post, Khashoggi was often critical of the rule of Mohammed bin Salman. Following the killing, President Trump insisted that the Crown Prince should be taken at his word when denying responsibility for the death of the journalist.
According to experts, Saudi Arabia was quietly “waging a massive online campaign against Mr. Bezos and Amazon, targeting him principally as the owner of The Washington Post,” even while publicly stating that they were investigating the “rogue” elements responsible for Khashoggi’s vicious murder.
Experts with the UN believe that hackers corrupted Bezos’ phone in 2018, specifically on May 1, shortly after Bezos received a video file from the WhatsApp account of Mohammed bin Salman.
Hours after receiving the file, Bezos’ phone began acting “anomalously,” transferring suspiciously large amounts of data over the internet to unknown recipients.
The content of the data transfers, and who was receiving them, is not clear. However, experts believe that Saudi operatives are behind the attack. They believe this is all in connection to Khashoggi’s vocal criticism of the Crown Prince’s government.
Investigations into the hacking haven’t been conclusive. Bezos personally hired FTI Consulting, a private firm, to find out what’s going on. Even they stated that they “could not ascertain what alleged spyware was used.”
Further, their report “does not claim to have conclusive evidence,” as the hack left few traces in the phone.
