A former Twitter worker who was discovered responsible of spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia by sharing knowledge pertaining to particular people has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail.
Ahmad Abouammo, 45, was convicted earlier this August on numerous legal counts, together with cash laundering, fraud, falsifying information, and being an unlawful agent of a international authorities.
Abouammo was arrested on November 5, 2019, after being accused of abusing his entry to Twitter’s inner methods to collect details about Saudi Arabia’s critics on the social media platform. He was employed at Twitter from 2013 to 2015.
“Mr. Abouammo violated the belief positioned on him to guard the privateness of people by giving their private data to a international energy for revenue,” mentioned Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
“His conduct was made all of the extra egregious by the truth that the data was meant to focus on political dissidents talking out towards that international energy.”
Evidence offered throughout the August trial revealed that Abouammo, who labored as a Media Partnerships Manager for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area, acquired money from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in return for conveying figuring out data associated to its dissidents and critics, probably exposing them to persecution.
A checking account opened by Abouammo within the title of his father in Lebanon was credited with $200,000 in two transfers, half of which was laundered within the type of small wire transfers to the U.S. with false descriptions. He additionally acquired a luxurious watch that was subsequently offered on Craigslist for $42,000.
As a part of the sentencing, Abouammo has additionally been ordered to forfeit $242,000 and give up on March 31, 2023, to start the jail time period.
Another ex-Twitter worker, Ali Alzabarah, who has additionally been accused of buying personal data on accounts that have been important of the regime, fled the U.S. in December 2015 earlier than being charged.
The growth comes as Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, Twitter’s former head of safety, blew the whistle on severe safety failings on the firm, along with alleging that Chinese and Indian governments had compelled the agency to rent one in all their brokers, and sure had entry to delicate person knowledge.