Security News > 2022 > December > Ex-Twitter employee Gets 3.5 Years Jail for Spying on Behalf of Saudi Arabia

A former Twitter employee who was found guilty of spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia by sharing data pertaining to specific individuals has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.

Ahmad Abouammo, 45, was convicted earlier this August on various criminal counts, including money laundering, fraud, falsifying records, and being an illegal agent of a foreign government.

Abouammo was arrested on November 5, 2019, after being accused of abusing his access to Twitter's internal systems to gather information about Saudi Arabia's critics on the social media platform.

"Mr. Abouammo violated the trust placed on him to protect the privacy of individuals by giving their personal information to a foreign power for profit," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

Evidence presented during the August trial revealed that Abouammo, who worked as a Media Partnerships Manager for the Middle East and North Africa region, received cash from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in return for conveying identifying information related to its dissidents and critics, potentially exposing them to persecution.

As part of the sentencing, Abouammo has also been ordered to forfeit $242,000 and surrender on March 31, 2023, to begin the jail term.

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2022/12/ex-twitter-employee-gets-35-years-jail.html