Security Expert Says Amazon Chief's Phone Hacked By Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2019) The Saudi authorities hacked the phone of Jeff Bezos, Amazon chief and world's richest man, to access his personal data, Gavin de Becker, a prominent security consultant hired by Bezos, said in his article for The Daily Beast, linking the case to The Washington Post's coverage of Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

De Becker said he had finished his investigation into the National Enquirer newspaper's publication in January of leaked text messages between the Amazon founder and Lauren Sanchez, a former tv host who the tabloid claimed Bezos had extramarital relationship with. Shortly after the tabloid's publication, the Amazon CEO announced that he was divorcing his wife, MacKenzie Bezos. In the following month, he accused the tabloid's parent company, American Media Inc (AMI), of trying to blackmail him with the threat of releasing intimate photos he allegedly sent to Sanchez unless he said that the National Enquirer's reporting was not politically motivated.

"Our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos' phone, and gained private information. As of today, it is unclear to what degree, if any, AMI was aware of the details," the security consultant said in an article published on Saturday.

De Becker, in particular, noted that AMI chairman David Pecker was in "close relationship" with the authorities in Riyadh, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

AMI lawyer Elkan Abramowitz previously said on the air of ABC news broadcaster that neither the White House nor Saudi Arabia were involved in the affair.

The security consultant linked the hack to The Washington Post's coverage of the notorious murder of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, as this newspaper is owned by Bezos, while Khashoggi worked as a columnist for this media outlet and was a vocal critic of Saudi policies.

In February, the United Nations made public its preliminary findings in the investigation into Khashoggi's murder. According to the organization, the late reporter became the victim of "brutal and premeditated killing, planned and perpetrated by officials of the State of Saudi Arabia."

"Some Americans will be surprised to learn that the Saudi government has been very intent on harming Jeff Bezos since last October, when the Post began its relentless coverage of Khashoggi's murder," de Becker said.

In addition, it is known that US President Donald Trump, who personally criticized Bezos many times, keeps friendship with the publisher of the tabloid. At the same time, Trump said he knew nothing about the investigation of the tabloid into affairs linked to Bezos.

According to de Becker, all the materials on the data leak were transferred to the Federal authorities for further proceedings.

In March 2018, Bezos occupied the first position of the annual ranking of the richest people in the world according to Forbes magazine. He overtook the previous leader of the ranking � microsoft founder Bill Gates. In September, Amazon company became the second after Apple corporation with the capitalization exceeding $1 trillion.