Investigators say with "high confidence" that Saudi Arabia hacked Jeff Bezos' phone, CEO of Amazon and the richest man in the world.
After it was reported that The National Enquirer had acquired sensitive texts and photos between Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, the CEO promptly ordered an investigation into who was behind it.
Now, in a post on The Daily Beast, Bezos' security consultant Gavin de Becker claims that the investigation has "concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos' phone." However, his team of investigators have yet to prove if the hacking itself is connected to the data The National Enquirer claimed to have acquired.
Jeff Bezos Phone Was Hacked By Saudi
Bezos in February published a post on Medium revealing that the publication in question plus its parent company AMI had tried to extort and blackmail him with images he had shared to a woman to whom he was reportedly having an affair.
Then the CEO tapped de Becker how The National Enquirer gained access to his private data. Plenty of rumors swirled, including one speculation that suggests it was Michael Sanchez, Lauren's brother, who gave the texts to the tabloid. Other rumors say Bezos' phone was hacked, or an intelligence agency leaked the images to the U.S. administration.
But in his post, de Becker notes Michael might not have been the one who leaked the texts, adding that The National Enquirer had contacted him after already seeing the exchanges between Bezos and Lauren. That means The National Enquirer had another channel through which it acquired the data.
Putting Pressure On Enemies
"Saudis had access to Bezos' phone," de Becker writes, adding that it's a conclusion his team did not come to "lightly" and that these findings have been passed to federal officials. What remains unclear is whether these Saudi agents passed their information to AMI.
He also notes The National Enquirer's history and connections with Saudi, and subtly suggests that the country is leveraging AMI's publications to meddle with people it considers enemies, including Bezos and The Washington Post, a publication Amazon owns.
This story is developing, so make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more.
