【2005 Archives】

Life005 Archivesfull of grand mysteries. For instance, how did Jeff Bezos' dick pics end up in the hands of the National Enquirer? Sometimes, life is kind enough to provide an answer.

Or so it would seem today, with the Guardianreporting that the Amazon CEO's phone was likely hacked by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. Yes, that's right, the sexting scandal that birthed the term "complexifier" and the phrase "I love you, alive girl" allegedly all began as a state-sponsored hacking campaign.

For those who managed to prevent the entire ordeal from taking up any of their limited brain space, the National Enquirer'ssupposed attempt to extort Bezos backfired massively when the CEO wrote a Feb. 7, 2019 Medium post airing it all. That "all" in question included a vast number of text messages between Bezos and his then mistress, as well as a "below the belt selfie — otherwise colloquially known as a "d*ck pick."

---

You May Also Like

---

---

According to today's Guardianreport, Bezos and MBS were messaging back and forth on Facebook-owned WhatsApp in 2018 when the former received a video file from the latter's WhatsApp account. It is "highly probable," the Guardian quotes investigators as determining, that the video contained malicious software. A short time after Bezos received the file, data began to leave Bezos' phone.

At some point, data from Bezos' phone made its way to the National Enquirer,where the company's lawyers allegedly attempted to use it to blackmail the CEO into directing the Washington Post, which Bezos owns, into ceasing its coverage of the relationship between National Enquirerparent company American Media Inc. and Saudi Arabia.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Yes. Credit: Stephanie Keith / getty

Follow that? Whatever the intention, it clearly didn't work out in AMI's favor.

We reached out to Amazon in an attempt to determine what, if any, response it has to the news that its CEO may have been targeted by MBS directly. We received no immediate response.

SEE ALSO: PopSockets CEO calls out Amazon's 'bullying with a smile' tactics

It's worth noting, however, that Bezos isn't the only high-priority hacking target that reportedly messaged frequently with MBS. According to the New York Times, Jared Kushner had a longstanding message exchange with MBS — "who is known to favor the online messaging service WhatsApp."

So, yeah. Get ready for those Kushner dick pics.

Topics Amazon Cybersecurity

• Digital Culture
• Deals
• Games
• Science
• Social Good
• Shopping
• Entertainment
• Tech

• Best JBL deal: Save $80 on JBL Xtreme 4 portable speaker
• Best speaker deal: Save $50 on the JBL Flip 6
• Shop early Black Friday deals on Kindle books
• Best Black Friday phone deal: Save $200 on Motorola razr+
• A worthless juicer and a Gipper-branded server
• 'Dune: Prophecy' episode 1: Mother Raquella's vision, explained
• NYT mini crossword answers for November 18
• Today's Hurdle hints and answers for November 18
• Samsung Unpacked stream is set for May 12, 2025
• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for November 20: Tips to solve Connections #58

• Snap goes 3D with Spectacles 3, coming this fall
• 'Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus' nails that Nickelodeon nostalgia: Review
• Amazon sellers advertise freebies on Facebook—just don't forget to leave a review
• Justin Bieber's selfies (and bangs) are back
• Trump to use personal Twitter account instead of @POTUS, report says
• Kickstarter joins NYC effort to close wage gap by not asking about employee salary history
• We regret to inform you that pumpkin spice Spam exists
• No, Facebook isn't getting rid of your secret group
• Inflatable Xbox One controller is perfect if you ever manage to go outside
• After Trump's comments, the wrong John Lewis is getting buried in tweets

• Virtual Reality: The True Cost of Admission (and Why It Doesn't Matter)
• Best headphones deal: Save $40 on the JBL Tune 720BT headphones
• Arkadium mini crossword answers for November 18
• How long is a light
• Commissioning Misleading Core i9
• 'Missing' review: a twisty whodunnit where Gen Z's internet habits save the day
• Where FCC chair nominee Brendan Carr stands on net neutrality, other key issues
• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for November 19: Tips to solve Connections #57
• 10 Tech Predictions for 2017
• Today's Hurdle hints and answers for November 20

• Study trains Port Jackson sharks to respond to jazz music
• Best coffee machine deal: Save $250 on the De'Longhi La Specialista
• Why a security suite is a must for young families
• Best Black Friday Kindle deal: Save $76 on the Kindle Scribe
• AMD Radeon RX 550 + Intel Pentium G4560
• Black Friday deal: Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones for under $200
• ESPN testing AI avatar to provide analysis on 'SEC Nation' college football broadcast
• Edmonton Oilers vs. Montreal Canadiens 2024 livestream: Watch NHL for free
• Best Sony headphones deal: Over $100 off Sony XM5 headphones
• New Apple AirTags are coming next year. How will they be different?