Almost two years ago, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos's phone was hacked via a malware attack, reports revealed. Recently a lawsuit has claimed that Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed bin Salman allegedly hacked Bezos's device and leaked details of Lauren Sanchez's affair.
The lawsuit came amid allegations that Lauren's brother Michael Sanchez had leaked the text messages between the couple. The leak was timed after Bezos and his ex-wife Mackenzie Bezos announced their divorce. Michael Sanchez denied providing any information about the couple to the news organization, National Enquirer, and instead filed a lawsuit alleging that the Saudi Arabia Prince was involved in the whole incident.
The Revelation
As per the court document, Bezos, who bought the Washington Post in 2013, published several articles "highly critical of President Donald Trump's... character and policies as well as the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman's oppressive regime." The lawsuit then alleged that to retaliate against the articles, the Saudi Prince "hacked" Amazon billionaire's phone.
It also added that "As retribution for negative press coverage in the Post," Michael Sanchez alleges that Saudi Prince and the government hacked 56-year-old Bezos's cell phone in May 2018 by tricking him into unknowingly installing illegal spyware, which is a kind of malware.
Through the spyware, Saudi Prince gained the knowledge and evidence of Bezos's affair with Lauren Sanchez and then illegally shared it with the American Media Inc (AMI), then-owner of National Enquirer. The court documents claimed that these actions were confirmed by an investigation, conducted by Bezos's head of security, Gavin de Becker, and "was the subject of investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the United Nations Human Rights Commission."
Michael Sanchez Shared Nude Photos?
It was also revealed in the lawsuit that after receiving all the information about the couple, the news agency began to plot a "hit piece" on the E-commerce company CEO by publishing embarrassing details of his personal life. The media company and others were desperate to unfairly blame Michael Sanchez "in order to avoid criminal consequences for illegally obtaining the Pornographic Materials and extorting Bezos," added the lawsuit.
However, while Michael Sanchez claimed that he "was not and could not have been the source" of such pictures as he never possessed them, Bezos and his security consultant insist that they never specifically accused Michael Sanchez of leaking the private photographs.
Earlier, Lauren Sanchez told media that her brother had secretly provided "most personal information to the National Enquirer – a deep and unforgivable betrayal."
Bezos took it to the online platform, and wrote in his blog post: "Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I've decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten."
Saudi denied all the allegations and called them "nonsense," while AMI maintained its stand that it did not obtain any information illegally and that those private pictures were sent by Michael Sanchez.
