Headline Roundup • January 22nd, 2020
Jeff Bezos' Phone Reportedly Hacked by Saudi Arabia
Hacking,Technology,Jeff Bezos,Amazon,Washington Post,Mohammed Bin Salman,Saudi Arabia,Middle East,Cybersecurity
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Featured Coverage of this Story
The Guardian
The Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos had his mobile phone “hacked” in 2018 after receiving a WhatsApp message that had apparently been sent from the personal account of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, sources have told the Guardian.
The encrypted message from the number used by Mohammed bin Salman is believed to have included a malicious file that infiltrated the phone of the world’s richest man, according to the results of a digital forensic analysis.
This analysis found it “highly probable” that the intrusion into the phone was triggered by...
BBC News
They said Mohammed bin Salman should also be investigated for "continuous, direct and personal efforts to target perceived opponents".
A message from a phone number used by the prince has been implicated in a breach of Mr Bezos's data.
The kingdom's US embassy has denied the "absurd" story.
But the independent UN experts - Agnes Callamard, special rapporteur on summary executions and extrajudicial killings, and David Kaye, special rapporteur on freedom of expression - said the crown prince's "possible involvement" had to be investigated.
New York Post (News)
Saudi Arabia has dismissed claims that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hacked Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ phone as “absurd.”
The kingdom’s US embassy called for an investigation into The Guardian’s report that Bezos’ phone was infiltrated when a malicious file was sent in 2018 during a “seemingly friendly” chat between the pair on WhatsApp.
The report had stressed that it was unclear what was taken — although the timing coincides with supposed hacked messages to then-mistress Lauren Sanchez that included crotch shots and naked selfies.
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