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Federal court adjourns trial of ex-person excitement An employee accused of using the social media platform to spy on critics of the Saudi government.
Now adjourned to next summer, Ahmad Abouammo’s trial is expected to take a behind-the-scenes look at the efforts of a foreign government that is allegedly trying to use an American tech company to identify its political rivals.
The Abouammo trial, originally scheduled to go to trial in San Francisco this year, promises to reveal details about how the kingdom of Saudi Arabia allegedly trained and infiltrated insiders. excitement in central California.
The US government accused Mr. Abouammo and someone else. excitement An employee of accessing and providing non-public information about persons of interest to Saudi Arabia to the Saudi regime.
In exchange for approximately $320,000 in gifts and payments, Mr. Abouammo abused his current position. excitementMedia partnerships manager for Middle East and North Africa to delegate private information between 2013-2015 excitement Federal prosecutors said they were users of the Saudi regime. Private information includes details about relationships, device identifiers, phone numbers, and more.
The regime also sought specific assistance from Mr. Abouammo in obtaining child support from a Saudi royal family member. excitement the account was “verified” with the company’s signature checkmark.
According to a 2020 indictment, Mr. Abouammo sent a direct message to his Saudi caretaker. excitement We will proactively and reactively delete evil, brother.
The Justice Department first accused Mr Abouammo of failing to register as a foreign agent and obstructing justice in 2019. Then, in 2020, he filed a new indictment charging him with more crimes, including electronic fraud and money laundering.
Mr. Abouammo’s federal public defender and US prosecutors argued over when the trial should begin.
Mr Aboumammo’s representatives cited paperwork headaches (while reviewing hundreds of thousands of pages of documents) as reasons for adjourning the case to March 2022.
Prosecutors wanted the trial to begin before the end of 2021 and said Mr Abouammo’s team had withheld a foreign mystery witness from the government.
US Assistant Attorney Colin Christopher Sampson told US District Judge Edward M. Chen last week that Mr. Abouammo’s team stated that the witness was outside the US and outside the jurisdiction of a government subpoena.
“Your Honor, should the US justice system come to a standstill due to a timing conflict of an undisclosed defense witness?” Mr Sampson said at a hearing over Zoom last week.
The new hearing date is June 2022. Neither Mr. Sampso nor Mr. Abouammo’s lawyer responded to requests for comment to explain the change.
excitement declined to comment, including whether it changed hiring and internal security practices.
Fast-growing companies with high-value intellectual property excitement Tesla faces insider threats that compromise the security of a business’s information and the data it holds on its users.
Legal disputes involving outsider manipulation of a company employee, insider threats, or social engineering hacks are not always resolved in court.
According to reports, a Russian man, Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, admitted earlier this year to a conspiracy to pay a Tesla employee to install malware as part of a ransomware scheme.
According to The Associated Press, 27-year-old Kriuchkov apologized for his behavior and is set to be deported.
The government did not name Tesla in the charges, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged the news that Kriuchov pleaded guilty. excitement In a Russian message translated into English as “crime and punishment”.
Kriuchov’s attempt to hit Tesla with ransomware was not the act of a stand-alone Russian cybercriminal, according to Christopher Burgess, who worked as a CIA officer for decades.
Russian actions, detailed in the US government’s complaint, showed Kriuchov was participating in “an effort led by a well-funded and logistically agile organisation,” Mr. Burgess said. Wrote for ClearanceJobs.com in August.
“Based on the tone of approach, it is clear that the Russians said the organization in question had an operational oversight of the network and had a means of detecting employees,” Mr Burgess wrote. “The fact that they targeted a non-US citizen, Russian-speaking employee shows that their investigation and surveillance has a connection in Russia.”
According to the FBI’s complaint, Kriuchov offered the Tesla employee $500,000 to install the malware in 2020. Instead, the employee briefed the FBI, and Kriuchov was arrested in Los Angeles.
Relying on employees to report the approaches of the Saudis, Russians, and others could be disastrous for information security professionals tasked with preventing hackers from manipulating employees.
For National Insider Threat Awareness Month in September, the Biden administration launched a website aimed at helping government employees and private businesses recognize alarming behavior and reduce risks.
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