When it comes to hacking a Jeff Bezos, personal trust is key
Lots of money and sophisticated spyware aside, there’s also a physical accessibility factor at play
The innocuous-looking video file believed to have been used to hack Jeff Bezos’s smartphone says a lot about the technological sophistication of today’s spyware. Within hours of receiving the file and its encrypted downloader from the personal WhatsApp account of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS), the Amazon founder’s phone began transmitting “massive” amounts of data without authorisation, according to the forensic report by Bezos’s team (obtained by Vice).
While no smoking gun has been uncovered — and experts still have many unanswered questions — the purported attack bears all the hallmarks of spyware such as NSO Group’s Pegasus, which has exploited weaknesses in WhatsApp to hack phones. (NSO denies its tech was used in this instance.)..
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