A hacker group calling itself “GlobalLeaks” has begun distributing hacked emails stolen from the inbox of Yousef Al Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the United States and a man credited for cementing America’s close alliance with the UAE in the war on ISIL.
The Daily Beast reported the event, saying the hackers reached out to it in email this week to offer a sample of the messages they said demonstrated “how a small rich country/company used lobbyists to hurt American interests and those of its allies.”
The leaks, they said, “reveal how million of dollars were used to hurt reputation of American allies and cause policy change.” The leakers said they plan to publish the material themselves on Saturday.
The sample is comprised of 55 pages of documents that appear to have been printed out and recaptured by a digital camera.
The leakers claimed the documents had been provided to them by a paid whistleblower embedded in a Washington, D.C., lobbyist group, though it’s clear from even a cursory examination that they were printed out from Al Otaiba’s Hotmail account, the US daily reported, adding that the earliest message in the sample dates to 2014, and the most recent is from last month.
Embassy spokeswoman Lamiyae Jbari confirmed that the Hotmail address in the emails belongs to Al Otaiba, and said The Daily Beast’s phone call was the first the embassy had heard of the account being hacked and the contents leaked. “I’m sure you’re not the only one who received it,” she added.
Al Otaiba is a recognizable figure in D.C.’s diplomatic circles, who has been called “the most charming man in Washington.”
The excerpts provided to The Daily Beast include several emails between Al Otaiba and former Obama Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who’s now a principal at RiceHadleyGates, an influential Washington consulting firm that counts companies like ExxonMobil as clients.
Source: The Daily Beast
