OK, so I'm just a random anonymous coward. And arguably obsessed with my hobby.
But I'm puzzled that Bezos would be corresponding with MBS on the same device that he uses for potentially embarrassing personal stuff. Isn't that just a totally obvious OPSEC fail?
The problem is that even the head of a ginormous company with a strong connection to computer security generally (through AWS) is going to take actions based on convenience rather than OPSEC discipline.
I think it's natural for any given human to chat with all one's friend on the same level, with the same device and so-forth. A given individual can train themselves to have hard walls in their personal dealings but I'd suspect that individual would be a mid-level specialist, not the owner/manager/CEO who gets their position by their ability to manage and connect with people, not through technical expertise.
I guess. But even before the Khashoggi assassination, MBS was arguably an obvious threat. I can't imagine considering him a "friend".
I mean, I'd be gobsmacked if he mixed personal and business on the same devices. That could be disastrous, not just embarrassing. So a third device category doesn't seem unworkable.
Edit: Also, wouldn't someone like Bezos have security advisers? And how could they have failed to warn him?
One could make a similar argument about MBS, of course.
This reminds me of the way that Barrack Obama tried to keep his personal cellphone once he became president. Having a personal relationship with the wealthy and powerful is a unique thing since these are the ultimate decision makers. I would guess that Bezos or anyone like him chats frequently with very powerful people and that this is factor in him maintaining his own power and influence. And mobile devices would seem to magnify that ability of the very topmost people to connect directly with each other - ie, this was all done by secretaries and through protocol but that's slower and can let one big boss instantly sway another.
Of MBS doing his own spying and hacking is another way topmost people are becoming "do it yourself-ers".
I shudder to think what would have happened if Obama had ultimately refused to give up his personal phone, and every half-talented hacking group on the planet had pwned it six ways from Sunday—what a national security disaster that would have been! Oh wait
The Clinton server wasn't really interesting because she broke the rules...it was because the Chinese/whomever could grab stuff and the owners had plausible deniability.
But I'm puzzled that Bezos would be corresponding with MBS on the same device that he uses for potentially embarrassing personal stuff. Isn't that just a totally obvious OPSEC fail?
Edit: But that's what he did, isn't it?
And how could that be considered safe?