Amazon: 2020 Begins with Problems Penetrating the Company Membrane
January 28, 2020
DarkCyber coined a work to capture what seems to be happening to Amazon. That word is “amagenic.” The idea is that external factors which previously bounced off the online bookstore are now getting through.
A more MBA type of phrasing might be “amagenesis”; that is, the conditions under which external factors penetrate an organization, its management team, and its business activities. An example of an amagenic event is the mobile phone “event.”
The information about the alleged hacking of Mr. Bezos’ iPhone X is difficult to interpret. A consulting firm doing business as FTI issued a report. That report suggests that a third party compromised Mr. Bezos’ mobile phone. You can download and read the allegedly original and complete report at this link. Critical discussion of the FTI report may be located at this link.
Other facets of the story include allegations that a specialized software vendor in Israel provided the tool used to compromise Mr. Bezos’ mobile phone. A number of sources link the assault on the phone to the government of Saudi Arabia. The reason? Dissatisfaction with Amazon’s blockchain technology? No, the country took action to find out if there was information related to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who provided some stories to the Washington Post. Other sources say that Mr. Bezos’ mobile was compromised in 2008. (Yep, a decade ago.)
To muddy the water, information has been pulled from the “real” journalism archives; specifically, Mr. Bezos’ found himself the victim of a leak of information from a member of his “close friend’s” family. That information circulated, it is rumored, among the tabloids. Some of the “leaked information” presented Mr. Bezos in situations which were of a private nature.
But this Amagenic event is just one of a string of digital and real life viruses penetrating the juggernaut. Others include:
- An increasing tension between Amazon and Facebook. The vector of attack allegedly was WhatsApp.
- Amazon faces employees going public with information about alleged climate-hostile policies and actions. (Details are at this link.)
- Amazon workers are grousing about their work. An interesting example is the alleged Amazon truck driver who had to drive for 30 hours. (Allegation is summarized here.)
- Amazon is working hard to block Microsoft from beginning work on the $10 billion JEDI project. Did Amazon hire Department of Defense professionals in order to get an inside edge? Good question.
- Some US elected officials want an anti trust investigation of the company. (Some additional information is at this link.)
- Google and Microsoft poaching some Twitch stars.
Plus, there are continued complaints about knock offs (shanzai adherents) sold as the real deal on the Amazon eCommerce site, third-party sellers’ allegations that Amazon watches for hot products and then introduces its own product undercutting the Amazon seller, and other assorted hisses and boos.
Stepping back, DarkCyber believes these issues may illustrate amagenesis presenting itself in the Amazon construct.
Is this type of amagenic reaction curable? DarkCyber suggests taking two aspirin, getting a good night’s sleep, and checking in the morning.
Stephen E Arnold, January 28, 2020
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