Jeff Bezos met FBI investigators in 2019 over alleged Saudi hack

Amazon founder interviewed as FBI conducts inquiry into Israeli firm linked to malware

Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
@skirchy
Fri 31 Jan 2020 12.03 GMT
Last modified on Fri 31 Jan 2020 17.10 GMT

Jeff Bezos met federal investigators in April 2019 after they received information about the alleged hack of the billionaire’s mobile phone by Saudi Arabia, the Guardian has been told.

Bezos was interviewed by investigators at a time when the FBI was conducting an investigation into the Israeli technology company NSO Group, according to a person who was present at the meeting.

Reuters first reported on Thursday that the FBI was investigating the role of NSO in possible hacks of US residents and companies, citing four people familiar with the inquiry. Reuters also reported that the FBI had met Bezos in connection with the alleged hacking of his phone.

The FBI investigation into NSO has been under way since 2017, when officials were seeking information about whether the company had received any of the code it needed to infect smartphones from US hackers, Reuters reported.

In a statement provided by the strategy firm Mercury Public Affairs, NSO said: “We have not been contacted by any US law enforcement agencies at all about any such matters and have no knowledge or awareness of any investigative actions. Therefore, we cannot comment further.”

-snip-

U.S. LEGAL NEWS JANUARY 30, 2020 / 6:20 PM / UPDATED 9 HOURS AGO

Exclusive: FBI probes use of Israeli firm's spyware in personal and government hacks - sources

Joseph Menn, Jack Stubbs
5 MIN READ

(Reuters) - The FBI is investigating the role of Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group Technologies in possible hacks on American residents and companies as well as suspected intelligence gathering on governments, according to four people familiar with the inquiry.

The probe was underway by 2017, when Federal Bureau of Investigation officials were trying to learn whether NSO obtained from American hackers any of the code it needed to infect smartphones, said one person interviewed by the FBI then and again last year.

NSO said it sells its spy software and technical support exclusively to governments and that those tools are to be used in pursuing suspected terrorists and other criminals. NSO has long maintained that its products cannot target U.S. phone numbers, though some cybersecurity experts have disputed that.

The FBI conducted more interviews with technology industry experts after Facebook filed a lawsuit in October accusing NSO itself of exploiting a flaw in Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service to hack 1,400 users, according to two people who spoke with agents or Justice Department officials.

NSO said it was not aware of any inquiry.

-snip-