Inside Story

What does the Jeff Bezos hacking investigation mean for MBS?

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stands accused of hacking mobile phone of Amazon and the Washington Post owner.

A WhatsApp message sent by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) was allegedly used to hack the phone of Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon and the Washington Post.

While Riyadh has denied the charge, the alleged hacking has attracted extra scrutiny as it occured while Saudi Arabia was supposedly investigating the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist whose murder by a Saudi hit squad has been widely linked to MBS.

Now, the same UN players who investigated Khashoggi’s killing have called for an immediate investigation into the hacking, and if it was used to extort Bezos.

What could another investigation mean for MBS?

And how vulnerable might others be to cyber attacks from the kingdom?

Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria

Guests:

Elisabeth Myers – professor of law at the American University in Washington and former editor-in-chief of Inside Arabia

Rami Khoury – professor of journalism at the American University of Beirut

Ali Al-Ahmed – director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs