Jeff Bezos’ mobile phone was hacked after receiving a message from the Saudi Arabian crown prince, the Guardian newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.
A digital forensic analysis suggested the theft of data from the Amazon.com Inc. chief’s phone in 2018 started with an infected video file sent via WhatsApp from the personal account of Mohammed bin Salman, the newspaper reported.
The Guardian said it didn’t know what data was extracted from the phone, but the report comes about a year after the surprise announcement that Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, would divorce after 25 years of marriage. The National Enquirer subsequently reported on an extramarital affair between Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, a former television anchor.
Gavin de Becker, a security consultant for Bezos, in April had accused Saudi Arabia of accessing Bezos’s phone before the tabloid exposed the affair. De Becker also said last year that the Enquirer had a business relationship with the Saudis.
The Washington Post, which is owned by Bezos, reported last year that the Central Intelligence Agency linked the crown prince to the 2018 murder of Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
De Becker and Amazon (AMZN) didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The Saudi embassy couldn’t be reached outside office hours.
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