Reports Of Saudi Involvement In Bezos Hack 'Absurd' - Saudi Embassy To US

The Saudi Arabian embassy to the United States has brandished as "absurd" reports that Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman may have been personally involved in hacking Amazon founder Jeff Bezos

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2020) The Saudi Arabian embassy to the United States has brandished as "absurd" reports that Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman may have been personally involved in hacking Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

A bombshell report by UK newspaper The Guardian cited unnamed security sources as saying that Bin Salman sent Bezos a malicious file through Whatsapp which may have compromised Bezos' privacy.

"Recent media reports that suggest the Kingdom is behind a hacking of Mr. Jeff Bezos' phone are absurd. We call for an investigation on these claims so that we can have all the facts out," the embassy wrote on Twitter.

The alleged hack, according to The Guardian's sources, happened five months before Saudi agents killed Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018. Bezos, the world's richest man, owns the Post and has led vigils in memory of Khashoggi, often taking swipes at the kingdom.

Bin Salman and Bezos met in early 2018 when the Crown Prince conducted a US tour seen as a charm offensive to attract investments to Saudi Arabia.

The report may implicate Saudi Arabia in previous - unresolved - hacking scandals surrounding Bezos. In early 2019, Bezos made known that US tabloid National Enquirer had obtained intimate messages and nude photos from his private life which it threatened to release. It remains unknown how the Enquirer obtained the material, if at all.

The report by The Guardian's Stephanie Kirchgaessner was quickly followed by resurfacing reports from several outlets that Bin Salman also had extensive Whatsapp communications with Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and White House insider.