Cases / Killings and repression of defenders · United States · 2023
Dark Basin hacking of climate groups (#ExxonKnew)
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
An Israeli private investigator was sentenced in a US federal court for his part in a spearphishing campaign that targeted US climate and environmental organisations. Exxon denied any knowledge.
80 monthsSentence imposed on the investigator
Federal court, Southern District of New York, 16 November 2023, with forfeiture of $4,844,968.
Federal court, Southern District of New York, 16 November 2023, with forfeiture of $4,844,968.
Status As of the November 2023 sentencing: Azari sentenced to 80 months; Exxon denies any knowledge.
What?
Spearphishing campaign against climate and environmental organisations, for which an investigator hired for the work was sentenced. US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
Where?
Sentenced in the Southern District of New York. US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
When?
Sentencing on 16 November 2023. US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- Union of Concerned Scientists, Rockefeller Family Fund, Conservation Law Foundation, Climate Investigations Center — Named as victims of the hacking US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Spearphishing, as described by the US Attorney's Office. US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Aviram Azari, an Israeli private investigator, was sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of New York on 16 November 2023 to 80 months in prison and forfeiture of $4,844,968. The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York described the case as involving a massive spearphishing campaign.
The victims included the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Rockefeller Family Fund, the Conservation Law Foundation and the Climate Investigations Center. The episode is known as the hacking of climate groups, linked to the #ExxonKnew campaign, and the hacking operation as "Dark Basin".
Exxon denied any knowledge of the hacking.
- 202316 November: Aviram Azari sentenced to 80 months and forfeiture of $4,844,968 in the Southern District of New York
How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
- Exxon denied any knowledge of the hacking.Exxon, as recorded in the reviewed sources · US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
Recorded
- Aviram Azari was sentenced on 16 November 2023 to 80 months and forfeiture of $4,844,968 (Southern District of New York).
- Victims included the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Rockefeller Family Fund, the Conservation Law Foundation and the Climate Investigations Center.
Who gained
Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.
Reached nature or the ground
Not published
No figure published.
Gained elsewhere
Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: 2023. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.
Responses on record
- exxon: Denied any knowledge of the hacking. · US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2023-11-16Claimant won$4844.97bn ForfeitureUnited States v. Aviram Azari (spearphishing campaign)US District Court, Southern District of New York · Criminal · United States → Aviram Azari
Azari, an Israeli private investigator, was sentenced to 80 months in prison and forfeiture of $4,844,968 for his involvement in a massive spearphishing campaign. US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Harm to nature
Not recorded
The sources reviewed describe hacking of organisations, not physical harm to ecosystems.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record Who commissioned the hacking: the sources reviewed record only that Exxon denied any knowledge.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed; the record names the victim organisations and a forfeiture of $4,844,968 ordered against the investigator.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Government and regulators
- Israeli hacker-for-hire sentenced to 80 months in prison for involvement in massive spearphishing campaignUS Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York · 2023-11-16
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