Retired NSA director U.S. won hefty contracts with Saudi Arabia, Japan
USA’s Former NSA director Keith Alexander secured $2 million in consulting deals with foreign governments after leaving office, including a $700,000 contract to advise Saudi Arabia on cybersecurity after the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
According to the documents obtained by Washington post, Alexander’s consulting firm had secured consulting deals with foreign governments which amounted to $2 million after leaving office.
While the majority of that amount was paid by the Japanese government in a $1.3 million contract to provide advice on cyber issues, his consultancy firm struck a $700,000 contract with Saudi Arabia’s government to advise the Kingdom on cyber-security.
In July 2018, Alexander’s consulting firm — IronNet Cybersecurity — signed a contract with Riyadh to develop the Prince Mohammed bin Salman College of Cyber Security, named after the controversial Saudi Crown Prince who is claimed to have ordered the killing of journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.
In 2019, a group of American hackers who once worked for US intelligence agencies helped the United Arab Emirates to spy on a BBC host, the chairman of Al Jazeera and other prominent Arab media figures during a tense 2017 confrontation pitting the UAE and its allies against the Gulf state of Qatar.
In an investigation last year it was found that more than 500 retired U.S. military personnel — including scores of generals and admirals — had accepted employment from foreign governments, mostly as contractors in countries known for human rights abuses and political repression.
As per media report, there is a high possibility that such contracts were not limited to Saudi Arabia, but also included the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
