from the pictures-or-it-didn't-happen...oh-wait. dept.
Saudis gained access to Amazon CEO Bezos' phone: Bezos' security chief
The security chief for Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos said on Saturday that the Saudi government had access to Bezos' phone and gained private information from it.
Gavin De Becker, a longtime security consultant, said he had concluded his investigation into the publication in January of leaked text messages between Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, a former television anchor who the National Enquirer tabloid newspaper [had] said Bezos was dating.
Last month, Bezos accused the newspaper's owner of trying to blackmail him with the threat of publishing "intimate photos" he allegedly sent to Sanchez unless he said in public that the tabloid's reporting on him was not politically motivated.
Also at The Daily Beast.
Previously: Jeff Bezos Accuses National Enquirer of Blackmail
The Story Behind the Instant Classic “Bezos Exposes Pecker” Headline
Related Stories
Jeff Bezos Accuses National Enquirer of Blackmail
Jeff Bezos, Amazon's chief executive and the world's richest man, accused the owner of The National Enquirer on Thursday of trying "extortion and blackmail" to stop his investigation into how his private text messages and photos with his mistress were leaked to the tabloid.
In an extraordinarily personal online post, Mr. Bezos said intermediaries of David Pecker, the chairman of American Media Inc., the nation's biggest tabloid news publisher and owner of The National Enquirer, had approached him to stop his investigation. Mr. Bezos said he had been told that if he refused, the publisher would make risqué and intimate photos of the billionaire and his mistress, Lauren Sanchez, public.
[...] "Of course I don't want personal photos published, but I also won't participate in their well-known practice of blackmail, political favors, political attacks and corruption," Mr. Bezos wrote of A.M.I., explaining why he had decided to speak out. "I prefer to stand up, roll this log over and see what crawls out."
Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
In the tabloid tradition, a good headline must do three things: it must communicate the news; it must commit some act of wordplay; and it must trigger a certain popping of the eyes in its reader, ideally accompanied by some kind of involuntary subverbal response—a squawk, a snort, a guffaw, a gasp. On Thursday, just minutes after Jeff Bezos revealed that American Media, Inc., had threatened to publish explicit photographs of him unless he acquiesced to certain demands, tabloid-headline excellence was achieved, when HuffPost declared, on its home page, "Bezos Exposes Pecker." "Pecker," of course, referred to David Pecker, the chairman and C.E.O. of A.M.I.—the same Pecker who, during the 2016 Presidential election, facilitated a payment to a woman who had a story to tell about an affair with Donald Trump.
[...] The headline was the work of Hayley Miller, a HuffPost reporter in New York whose workday had already ended when the Bezos news came out. [...] The idea for "Bezos Exposes Pecker" came to her quickly, but she hesitated before sharing it. On one hand, she said, "I was just, like, Oh, my gosh, this is gold—got to do this." On the other hand, she considered, "Do I want to bother my colleagues with another dick pun?" In the end, she went for it. "Trusted my gut, I guess," she said.
Whitney Snyder, a HuffPost deputy editor [...] explained that this wasn't the first time the Web site's Slack channels had been peppered with Pecker puns. "We did have a bit of a rehearsal in August," he said, referring to the day that Pecker's immunity deal with federal prosecutors was reported. "We ran a headline that was 'Report: Trump Loses Pecker.' "
Previously: Jeff Bezos Accuses National Enquirer of Blackmail
Jeff Bezos: World's richest man agrees $35bn divorce
The world's richest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and his wife MacKenzie have agreed [to] a record-breaking divorce settlement of at least $35bn (£27bn). Ms Bezos keeps a 4% stake in the online retail giant, worth $35.6bn on its own.
[...] Prior to the settlement, Mr Bezos held a 16.3% stake in Amazon. He will retain 75% of that holding but Ms Bezos has transferred all of her voting rights to her former husband. She will also give up her interests in the Washington Post newspaper and Mr Bezos' space travel firm Blue Origin.
Amazon is now [a] vast online retail business. Last year, it generated sales of $232.8bn and it has helped Mr Bezos and his family amass a fortune of $131bn, according to Forbes magazine.
[...] The divorce deal dwarfs a previous $3.8bn record set in 1999 by art dealer Alec Wildenstein and his wife Jocelyn, who became well-known for her cosmetic surgery.
MacKenzie Bezos (soon to be MacKenzie Tuttle?):
She is now the third-richest woman in the world, as well as one of the wealthiest overall.
Also at USA Today.
See also: MacKenzie Bezos to give half of her $36 billion fortune to charity
Previously: Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO Worth $137 Billion, to Divorce Wife of 25 Years
Jeff Bezos Accuses National Enquirer of Blackmail
The Story Behind the Instant Classic "Bezos Exposes Pecker" Headline
Saudi Arabia's Government Allegedly Hacked Into Jeff Bezos's Phone
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos's phone 'hacked by Saudi crown prince'
Exclusive: investigation suggests Washington Post owner was targeted five months before murder of Jamal Khashoggi
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 an infected video file sent from the account of the Saudi heir to Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post.
The two men had been having a seemingly friendly WhatsApp exchange when, on 1 May of that year, the unsolicited file was sent, according to sources who spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity.
Large amounts of data were exfiltrated from Bezos's phone within hours, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Guardian has no knowledge of what was taken from the phone or how it was used.
The extraordinary revelation that the future king of Saudi Arabia may have had a personal involvement in the targeting of the American founder of Amazon will send shockwaves from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.
Previously: Saudi Arabia's Government Allegedly Hacked Into Jeff Bezos's Phone
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @03:50AM
See comment subject.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @04:21AM (1 child)
The password "IBrichfuckrest666" was too easy to guess
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday April 01 2019, @03:33PM
12345
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @05:00AM (15 children)
Another story with scant details. Let me see what the constellation here is:
Saudi Arabia is an authoritarian theocratic monarchy, who may object to some of the shit Bezos sells on his website, but no obvious motive to send their secret agents after him.
Saudi Arabia is currently allied with Israel, and the two have an inside track to the US administration.
While the Democrats are currently distracting everybody with the Russia story, pretty much everything that Israel wants, Israel gets. Under Trump, to a far greater degree than is expected from AIPAC lobbying Congress, and greater than can be expected from general favour due to having Jews in the family.
Bezos has bought the Washington Post, and why would somebody buy a newspaper today if not to distribute the purchaser's opinions.
The Washington Post is part of the US media front producing a constant stream of Trump hit pieces.
The ownership of the National Enquirer conversely takes a positive attitude toward Trump.
Trump doesn't much like Bezos, and the feeling is probably mutual.
The strongest path here seems to be Bezos > Trump > Israel > Saudi Arabia. Did Israel hack Bezos' phone and give the data to the National Enquirer, to take some of the wind out of his assailing of Trump, and had Saudi Arabia agree to assume the blame? And did Trump then give the Golan Heights to Israel in gratitude?
Enquiring minds want to know. :)
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Monday April 01 2019, @05:05AM
National Enquirer ran what was essentially a propaganda magazine issue for the Saudi government:
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/national-enquirer-saudi-propaganda [vanityfair.com]
https://nypost.com/2018/04/24/the-strange-saga-of-a-pro-saudi-tabloid-in-americas-heartland/ [nypost.com]
https://nypost.com/2018/03/27/special-interest-mag-praising-saudi-prince-raises-eyebrows/ [nypost.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Monday April 01 2019, @05:20AM (5 children)
The (Bezos) Washington Post has been fiercely critical of Saudi Arabia, particularly since the death of Jamal Khashoggi [wikipedia.org], a columnist for The Washington Post. Media outlets reported on Nov. 16, 2018 that the CIA had concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) ordered Khashoggi's death, although President Trump disputed that.
The Bezos affair story went live around Jan. 9, 2019.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/a26251113/jeff-bezos-lauren-sanchez-relationship-timeline/ [townandcountrymag.com]
From the Daily Beast article:
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 01 2019, @09:33AM (3 children)
Khashoggi, IMO, is a poster child for the Darwin Awards. Sorry if you don't like that attitude, but that's how I see it.
The man KNEW that his government and the despotic assholes that run it have no respect for "freedom of the press". If Khashoggi were a competent journalist, then at some time he had to opportunity to attend the University of Hard Knocks. There he should have taken International Intrigue 101, 102, 103, 201 thru 210, and 301. Before he finished II 102, he should have known "Always Cover Your Ass". Before he completed 103, he should have known "Everyone is an enemy, and potential murderer."
Khashoggi did enter into enemy territory, alone, without backup, and without an escape plan. What - he thought that leaving some chick outside the embassy, without weapons, and without clear instructions on any rescue attempt was sufficient to "Always Cover Your ASS"??
Unless he intended to become a martyr, then he was just another dumbass who thought that he could play with the big boys. The big boys would have handed him his ass, if there were any ass left to hand to him.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @01:09PM
So now you blame the victim for the crime? Classy.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 01 2019, @01:42PM (1 child)
People aren't supposed to just get murdered in embassies. And indeed, he probably would have been fine if his phone hadn't been hacked and his planned movements were not known. The killers were flown in after all.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 01 2019, @01:50PM
When you have powerful enemies, you don't blithely answer the beck and call of a representative of those enemies. He most probably didn't need any paperwork, it was some bogus, made-up necessity.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @12:26PM
Bezos got off easy. I hear the Saudis hacked into Khashoggi's phone too -- unfortunately it was still in his shirt pocket at the time.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by c0lo on Monday April 01 2019, @06:14AM (3 children)
Same not obvious motives for the case of the... ummm... hospitality offered to Jamal Khashoggi at their Turkish consulate.
And, if you remember, WaPo pushed that quite hard. Hard enough to be the reason for the hunt: as a theocratic authoritarian, you don't maintain authority for long if there are voices challenging you.
But doesn't stop SA internal propaganda tweeting “We as Saudis will never accept to be attacked by The Washington Post in the morning, only to buy products from Amazon and Souq.com by night! Strange that all three companies are owned by the same Jew [sic] who attacks us by day, and sells us products by night!”
You forgot Khashoggi from the picture.
here they are [thedailybeast.com]. A... ummm... lengthy skimming (from an even lengthier FA, with heaps of corroborating links - believe them or not, the story sounds plausible)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 01 2019, @06:37AM (2 children)
If it had been someone else that the WaPost hadn't been involved with, maybe it would have been completely swept under the rug or gone unnoticed for days or weeks. Instead, it became the top news story globally (IIRC).
The nature of the Khashoggi murder makes it seem even more likely that Saudis would go after Bezos. Mr. Bone Saw is developing a reputation for ordering brazen actions for petty reasons. I can't imagine that hacking Bezos and leaking his affair in order to embarrass him would be worth much strategically in comparison to the backlash. I wonder if NEOM [soylentnews.org] and all those other big plans will see the light of day in Saudi Pariah.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday April 01 2019, @07:27AM (1 child)
I feel that Mr Bone Saw suffers from an imagination deficit.
Specifically, he cannot imagine he could fail or be discovered. That, I reckon, is a common syndrome in young males, particularly in sociopathic autocrats that had a sheltered upbringing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 01 2019, @07:43AM
MBS also couldn't imagine that there would be idiocy at an American tabloid publication.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @12:35PM
So the Beez is banging someone who used to make a living as a professional gossip, and it became public because of... a state actor? Riiiiight.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday April 02 2019, @01:20AM (2 children)
The idea that Israel and Saudi Arabia are allied makes my brain hurt. Yes, even though there are no nociceptors in the brain proper. Yet it seems this is the case. I can only conjecture that birds of a theocratic feather flock together.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 13 2019, @06:03AM (1 child)
Jews, (Evangelical) Christians, Muslims.
It is quite ironic that they are conspiring to create each religion's End of Days so collaboratively.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday April 13 2019, @06:37AM
Isn't it? I'd be fine with the idea if it wouldn't take all the rest of us down with them...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @05:42AM (14 children)
1. Being an enemy of Saudi Arabia probably makes most Americans think more highly of Bezos. We haven't forgotten 9/11.
2. Bezos puts listening devices in millions of homes, and then whines when his privacy is violated?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by takyon on Monday April 01 2019, @06:00AM (11 children)
Millions of people agreed to use those devices or should at least have some inkling that the Alexa service is not local to the device and that they are being "spied" on. Amazon apparently doesn't just hand the records over to anyone [soylentnews.org], although you could easily draw much more cynical conclusions.
On the other hand, Bezos didn't agree to have his email account accessed by the Saudis. And unlike those millions of people, he has hostile actors targeting him (possibly out of petty spite in the case of the Saudis, or for his riches, or for Amazon and Blue Origin trade secrets...).
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @11:45AM (1 child)
> Bezos didn't agree to have his email account accessed by the Saudis.
Sorry, I'm not buying the "poor Bezos" line. He has pissed off enough people during his life that it's obvious his personal life would be a target for someone. He has enough money to pay for NSA grade (or better?) security for his email.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 01 2019, @01:32PM
Plenty of corporate giants have had security breaches despite having clear motivations to prevent them.
It's not romantic to exchange PGP keys and good security practices with your lover. :-)
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @12:31PM (8 children)
In the big picture, a million little privacy violations can add up to more than one big one.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 01 2019, @01:36PM (7 children)
What privacy violations? Have millions of people had information about themselves leak out due to Amazon Alexa? Hundreds? I guess we wouldn't know if there was a mass warrant or third-party wiretapping, but your definition of "violations" is still unclear.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @03:50PM (6 children)
And what specific violations is Bezos complaining about? Maybe his phone used "password1234" and he deserved to get hacked. Oh, hacking his phone was illegal?
Massachusetts has two-party consent and it's a crime to secretly record conversations. Yet Amazon sells their recording devices here, which also operate without the recordee's knowledge. What if you're visiting a friend who has one of those speakers but forgot to tell you? Why should all responsibility be on them to disclose the recording? The devices could easily say every 10 minutes: "Hi, this is Alexa and I'm recording everything." But I suppose that would hurt sales.
Privacy violation comes in different shades of grey, and Bezos has certainly not been innocent.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 01 2019, @04:47PM (5 children)
They have handed all the info to the feds:
Saudis apparently have more sophisticated methods than guessing passwords, and used them on Khashoggi:
Jeff Bezos' investigator thinks Saudi Arabia hacked his cell phone — here's how it could have happened [businessinsider.com]
---
It's supposed to record at length only when it hears a "wake word", likely to be initiated by the owner of the device, so the owner might be the one at the fault. I doubt Amazon has anything to fear from Massachusetts.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @07:10PM (4 children)
So when their keyword detector has a false-positive, they are also violating the laws in single-party consent states. But you seem to think Amazon does not routinely violate privacy.
In fact, a senator from Massachusetts who's also a Presidential candidate has suggested breaking up the big tech companies. Amazon would be foolish to ignore political risk.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 01 2019, @07:38PM (3 children)
We can revisit after that candidate defeats 15 other Democrats and then President Trump.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01 2019, @08:57PM
There is broad political momentum behind Warren's distrust of Big Tech. Amazon had to already cancel their NYC plans, and Zuckerberg feels compelled to advocate for internet regulation now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 02 2019, @10:56AM (1 child)
And gets support from Congress about doing such a thing. You left that minor detail out.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday April 02 2019, @05:15PM
You forgot the inevitable Supreme Court challenges.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Monday April 01 2019, @11:24AM (1 child)
> We haven't forgotten 9/11.
No you haven't. Sadly though, most of you seem to think that Saddam Hussein was responsible for it. Or Afghanistan. Or gay marriage, or something...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday April 01 2019, @03:41PM
As an American, I mod you insightful.
But it is not us common people who think that.
Blaming Saddam was done by a president who, wasn't the brightest bulb, needed to finish daddy's war, and did whatever his VP told him to do.
Afghanistan had a role shielding Osama, and I tend to agree with The Bush Doctrine.
Religious charlatans will blame gay marijuana, or whatever and whoever they hate today, for 9/11 or hurricanes, etc. Because God told them who they should hate!
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.