According to the claims of an investigator, the phone of Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, was hacked by Saudi Arabia to access some of the personal dtat of Bezos.
Investigator Gavin de Becker was hired by Bezos to examine the case of release of leaked text messages and photos by US tabloid National Enquirer.
"Our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos' phone, and gained private information," de Becker wrote on The Daily Beast website on Saturday.
The extensive coverage about the murder of veteran Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year by The Washington Post newspaper, owned by Bezos, was linked to the hack by De Becker.
"It's clear that MBS considers The Washington Post to be a major enemy," de Becker wrote, referring to the crown price of the country which is amongst the highest producers of oil - Mohammed bin Salman, who was named as the individual "responsible" for the murder by the US Senate following a closed-door briefing by the CIA.
Prince Mohammed had no hand in the murder of Khashoggi, who was a Post contributing columnist for the Washington Post, Saudi Arabia has stressed.
Initially, Saudi Arabia had said that they did not have any information about what had happened to Khashoggi but later identified rogue Saudi agents for the murder.
Accusations of "extortion and blackmail" were brought by Bezos against the National Enquirer's owner last month. Bezos said that he was threatened that the tabloid would publish his "intimate photos" with his mistress if he did not agree to publicly announce that the reporting of Bezos by the tabloid was not politically motivated and halted the investigation.
The owner of the National Enquirer, American Media Inc (AMI), has demanded in private that De Becker deny discovery of any evidence of "electronic eavesdropping or hacking in their news gathering process", he said.
An acknowledgement that Bezos story by AMI was not "instigated, dictated or influenced in any manner by external forces, political or otherwise" was sought by the company in an eight-page AMI contract sent to Bezos and de Becker.
"As of today, it is unclear to what degree, if any, AMI was aware of the details," de Becker wrote.
There have been no comments made by the Saudi embassy in Washington or the Saudi government on the issue.
Saudi Arabia had "absolutely nothing to do" with the National Enquirer's reporting on Bezo’s affair, the country’s minister of state for foreign affairs had said in February.
No specific detail about the section of the Saudi government that was behind the hack was provided by De Becker. He also divulged little about the investigation which he undertook to come to the conclusion that Saudi Arabia was responsible for the hack.
He wrote that the results "have been turned over to federal officials".
(Source:www.aljazeera.com)
Investigator Gavin de Becker was hired by Bezos to examine the case of release of leaked text messages and photos by US tabloid National Enquirer.
"Our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos' phone, and gained private information," de Becker wrote on The Daily Beast website on Saturday.
The extensive coverage about the murder of veteran Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year by The Washington Post newspaper, owned by Bezos, was linked to the hack by De Becker.
"It's clear that MBS considers The Washington Post to be a major enemy," de Becker wrote, referring to the crown price of the country which is amongst the highest producers of oil - Mohammed bin Salman, who was named as the individual "responsible" for the murder by the US Senate following a closed-door briefing by the CIA.
Prince Mohammed had no hand in the murder of Khashoggi, who was a Post contributing columnist for the Washington Post, Saudi Arabia has stressed.
Initially, Saudi Arabia had said that they did not have any information about what had happened to Khashoggi but later identified rogue Saudi agents for the murder.
Accusations of "extortion and blackmail" were brought by Bezos against the National Enquirer's owner last month. Bezos said that he was threatened that the tabloid would publish his "intimate photos" with his mistress if he did not agree to publicly announce that the reporting of Bezos by the tabloid was not politically motivated and halted the investigation.
The owner of the National Enquirer, American Media Inc (AMI), has demanded in private that De Becker deny discovery of any evidence of "electronic eavesdropping or hacking in their news gathering process", he said.
An acknowledgement that Bezos story by AMI was not "instigated, dictated or influenced in any manner by external forces, political or otherwise" was sought by the company in an eight-page AMI contract sent to Bezos and de Becker.
"As of today, it is unclear to what degree, if any, AMI was aware of the details," de Becker wrote.
There have been no comments made by the Saudi embassy in Washington or the Saudi government on the issue.
Saudi Arabia had "absolutely nothing to do" with the National Enquirer's reporting on Bezo’s affair, the country’s minister of state for foreign affairs had said in February.
No specific detail about the section of the Saudi government that was behind the hack was provided by De Becker. He also divulged little about the investigation which he undertook to come to the conclusion that Saudi Arabia was responsible for the hack.
He wrote that the results "have been turned over to federal officials".
(Source:www.aljazeera.com)
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