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By Raphael Satter and Christopher Bing
WASHINGTON – Two Democratic senators and a host of environmental groups have called for investigations and accountability after a Reuters report that a lobbyist for Exxon Mobil (NISE:) was investigated for its alleged role in a widespread hacking and leaking operation that targeted prominent critics of the oil company.
In late November, Reuters reported that more than 500 email accounts belonging to environmentalists and their allies were targeted by mercenary hackers between 2015 and 2018 as part of efforts to help suppress ongoing climate change investigations and lawsuits. against Excon.
Reuters reported that the FBI was investigating Exxon’s longtime Washington consultant, DCI Group, over the hacking and the subsequent leaking of some environmentalists’ emails to the press.
At the time of that report, Akkon denied any involvement in the espionage campaign and called allegations to the contrary “conspiracy theories.” In a statement on Wednesday, Exxon said that “if there was hacking, we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
DCI said in a statement that the company “was not involved in or directed others to hack or illegally obtain information.”
Senate Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse – a critic of the energy company – said in a statement that news that DCI was involved in the distribution of emails stolen from prominent environmentalists was cause for grave concern and called on the Justice Department to “take a good, long look at Exxon and its fellow fossil fuel enthusiasts.” fuel.”
Responding to the Reuters story, Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden said the cyber espionage industry “threatens the very core of American democracy and fundamentally undermines our justice system.” In a statement, the Oregon lawmaker called for justice for “corporations and billionaires who pay for hacking and leak operations against their critics,” without naming specific companies or people.
California Democratic Rep. Ro Kahn called the hacking allegations “deeply troubling.”
Justice Department officials declined to comment.
MERCENARY HACKING
The MPs’ statements come as the Justice Department reaches a crossroads in a wider investigation into mercenary hacking that began in early 2018.
A key player in the scheme, private detective Aviram Azari, is due to be released from prison next month after refusing to cooperate with US authorities, his lawyer said earlier.
The London extradition trial of Amit Forlitt, a former business associate of Azari wanted by the US in connection with the DCI investigation, is due to begin on January 22. In a statement released in 2022, Forlitt said he “never ordered hacking and never paid for hacking.”
Some hacking victims fear that Trump, an oil industry ally who has called climate change a hoax, will bow to the investigation. In 2020, during Trump’s first term, Senator Whitehouse has already raised the alarm about what he called “political interference” in the prosecution.
Trump’s communications director Stephen Chung said the president-elect had been “absolutely clear” that the Justice Department and FBI would be independent under his administration.
Environmental groups targeted by the hacking campaign urged investigators to continue the case and scrutinize any possible involvement by Excon.
Acting president of the Center for International Environmental Law, Amanda Kistler, said the Reuters story exposed “the increasingly clear links of the cyber espionage operation to Exxon Mobil.” Kathy Mulvey of the Union of Concerned Scientists urged investigators “to get to the bottom of what, if any, role Exxon Mobil may have had here.”
The two groups were among the organizations named by the Canadian watchdog group Citizen Lab in 2020 as targets of mercenary hackers.
Reuters has since identified dozens of additional groups caught up in the surveillance operation, including several PR firms such as SKD Knickerbocker, which regularly works for Democratic politicians and left-wing campaigns.
Data reviewed by Reuters as part of its long-running investigation show that the hackers also targeted the advocacy group Oil Change International, the environmental and human rights group Earthworks and the left-wing Working Families Party.
SKD Knickerbocker, now known as SKD, said it was “not breached and no email was compromised.”
Oil Change International chief executive Elizabeth Bast said in a statement that the industry had spent years undermining those fighting climate change, and the “disgusting” hacking allegations uncovered by Reuters “underscore why governments must take action to clamp down on these rogue companies.” “.
In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based Earthworks questioned “what kind of threat” it could pose to a company the size of Exxon.
The political director of the Working Families Party, Joe Dinkin, demanded that Excon investigate its relationship with the hackers.
“Besides, an apology would be nice,” Dinkin said.
