Saudi Arabia behind Jeff Bezos phone hack, claims investigator

According to an investigator, Saudi Arabia hacked into Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos' phone and acquired private information. Gavin de Becker, who was hired to investigate how Bezos' phone's messages about his extramarital affair were leaked to a tabloid.

The investigation also suggests that the hack was linked to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi reporter who worked with The Washington Post. The outlet is owned by Jeff Bezos.

"Our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos' phone, and gained private information," de Becker said. The investigator claims to have provided the US authorities with his findings.

The allegations come two months after the Amazon boss sued American Media Inc., that owns The National Enquirer of extortion and breaching his privacy to gain access to his personal messages.

Bezos accused AMI of threatening to publish his intimate pictures with Lauren Sanchez, unless he said the publisher wasn't "politically motivated or influenced by political forces."

The investigator also said that it's unclear whether AMI knew anything about the Saudi hack. An American spokesperson said de Becker's claims are "false and unsubstantiated," saying that Michael Sanchez and Lauren's brother were the company's only source and "there was no involvement by any other third party whatsoever."

Jeff Bezos, who is the world's richest person is separating with his wife MacKenzie after 25 years of marriage. The couple got married in 1993 and after a year of marriage, Amazon was founded. The company's shares saw a decline of 0.5 percent after the announcement. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos is worth $137 billion.

(source)