Lawless Planet – "Who Hired Hackers to Target Climate Activists?" Release Date: February 9, 2026 | Host: Zach Goldbaum

Episode Overview

This explosive episode of Lawless Planet dives into the shadowy world where powerful oil and gas interests wage cyberwarfare against climate activists. Host Zach Goldbaum investigates the true story of how hacking-for-hire firms, orchestrated through layers of international intrigue, targeted environmental groups mounting legal and public campaigns against ExxonMobil. Featuring interviews with digital security experts and activists, the episode unpacks the mechanics of mercenary hacking operations, the history of fossil fuel disinformation, and why these cyberattacks matter for the future of climate action.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Arab Spring and the Evolution of Activist Cyber-Threats

• [00:07-01:15] John Scott Railton (JSR)—now a lead investigator at Citizen Lab—recounts how witnessing activists in Libya and Egypt being hacked exposed a terrifying new world where technology, once a tool for democracy, became a weapon for repression.
  • “It kind of blew my mind... technology has been this mechanism to get voices out... But here it is. At the same time, we still have risk, and governments are now trying to claw their way back.” — JSR [01:15]
• JSR pivots to focus on cyber threats to civil society, leading investigations into hacking, phishing, and disinformation targeted at journalists, dissidents, and activists globally.

2. Stumbling onto a Mercenary Hacking Operation

• [02:28-03:29] In 2017, JSR's team investigates a journalist’s phishing emails and, due to hacker sloppiness, uncovers an entire web of targets—indicating a sprawling, for-hire hacking operation.
  • The operation targeted not just journalists, but many environmental organizations and climate campaigners—specifically those challenging ExxonMobil.

3. Exxon’s Legacy of Disinformation and Climate Obstruction

• [05:38-11:11] Zach and climate activist Kurt Davies reconstruct how Exxon (and allies like the Global Climate Coalition and PR firm DCI Group) systematically sowed doubt about climate science for decades, secretly funding front groups and propaganda.
  • “Their founding principle was to stop the climate treaty from hurting American business… Exxon was just there all the time as the worst case of a corporate entity.” — Kurt Davies [08:05]
  • “TechCentral Station wasn't a news source. It was a propaganda machine.” — Zach Goldbaum [11:06]

4. What Did Exxon Know—and When?

• [12:15-15:14] Inside Climate News’ blockbuster reporting reveals that Exxon’s own scientists confirmed fossil fuels’ role in global warming as early as the late '70s—but the company buried the evidence.
  • “Exxon not only knew about climate change, they knew way before the rest of us. And rather than diversifying… they set out to cover up what they had uncovered.” — Zach Goldbaum [14:19]
• The resulting exposé triggers investigations by state attorneys general and ignites the “ExxonKnew” campaign among activists.

5. Targeted: How Activists Became Hacking Victims

• [18:26-22:08] As climate groups plan legal and public pressure against Exxon, strange, sophisticated phishing emails begin to circulate among those involved.
  • “Strange things started to happen. In February, a bunch of weird emails start rolling in to various people who are involved in this work. And they were kind of goofy...” — Kurt Davies [20:38]
• Shortly after, The Wall Street Journal and conservative media report on confidential strategy meetings—information apparently stolen via hacking.

6. How the Hackers Were Unmasked

• [23:52-30:53] JSR describes the key break: investigators discover that hackers used their own URL shortener service, exposing all the links and victims. Most activity happens during Indian business hours; holiday references confirm the likely origin.
• They identify Beltrox, an Indian IT firm previously implicated in criminal hacking, as the culprit. A tangled network leads back to high-profile targets in the environmental movement.
  • “Their employees proudly listed skills like corporate espionage, conducting cyber intelligence operations, and my personal favorite, email penetration.” — Zach Goldbaum [31:35]

7. Tracing the Money and Motive: From Beltrox to Exxon’s Orbit

• [32:15-38:55] The investigation follows a trail from Beltrox through Israeli private eyes (Azari, Forlett), intermediated by DCI Group, ExxonMobil’s longtime lobbyists.
• U.S. prosecutors allege that the hacks were conducted “on behalf of one of the world’s largest oil and gas corporations, centered in Irving, Texas”—a clear reference to Exxon.
• Operation Fox Hunt is revealed: the clandestine cyber campaign to undermine climate lawsuits.

8. Personal Impact & Unanswered Questions

• [39:22-40:31] Kurt Davies describes the profound violation:
  • “It was very personal and very much… an invasion of privacy. And when you find out that your kids were targeted, your spouse was targeted… you’re living in this sort of cocoon of fear of how far in are they?” — Kurt Davies [39:47]
• Despite ongoing stress, Davies refuses to be silenced or deterred, and climate litigation against Exxon continues.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It kind of blew my mind because I thought, okay, well, here technology has been this mechanism to get voices out to the world… but here it is. At the same time, we still have risk.”
  — John Scott Railton [01:15]
• “There’s no way for them to know that I know that guy unless they’re already in my computer.”
  — Kurt Davies [04:24, 27:38]
• “Exxon not only knew about climate change, they knew way before the rest of us. And rather than… alerting the public… they set out to cover up what they had uncovered.”
  — Zach Goldbaum [14:19]
• “The company funded seemingly independent scientists to sow doubt and spread debunked claims around climate change. Then they disseminate those claims with the help of shadowy PR firms and hired lobbyists.”
  — Zach Goldbaum [10:30]
• “It was very personal and very much of a, you know, an invasion of privacy. And when you find out that your kids were targeted… young children's emails, addresses were targeted trying to get to dad's information.”
  — Kurt Davies [39:47]
• “We are not yet done. I'm not done. I'm not giving up… We have long memories and we keep the receipts in my neighborhood.”
  — Kurt Davies [40:31]

Timeline of Key Segments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |------------|--------------------| | 00:07 | JSR’s background: from grad student to digital investigator during the Arab Spring. | | 02:19 | Start of the hacking investigation—initial clues and the discovery of phishing at scale. | | 05:38 | Broader context: the rise of internet disinformation and fossil fuel companies’ strategies. | | 07:14 | Kurt Davies recalls '98 climate negotiations and Exxon’s covert lobbying. | | 12:15 | Inside Climate News reveals Exxon’s knowledge of climate science since the ‘70s. | | 18:26 | Activist response: radical new campaigns and mounting legal threats against Exxon. | | 20:38 | First phishing attacks target the core group of activists and lawyers. | | 23:52 | How the investigation cracked the hackers’ methods. | | 29:17 | Identifying Beltrox as the operative hacking firm. | | 32:15 | Suspicion lands on Exxon; chain of intermediaries through Israeli PI’s and DCI Group. | | 35:57 | Operation Fox Hunt and the sequence of cyber counterattacks. | | 39:22 | Real-world consequences for those targeted: paranoia, fear, and resilience. | | 40:31 | Kurt Davies’s resolve and ongoing climate litigation. |

Conclusion

This episode of Lawless Planet uncovers the deeply interconnected world of corporate power, information warfare, and environmental activism. Through meticulous reporting and compelling personal stories, it reveals how fossil fuel giants like ExxonMobil utilized sophisticated cybermercenaries (via DCI Group and Beltrox) to infiltrate and sabotage climate accountability efforts—serving as a sobering warning of what’s at stake in the battle for a habitable planet.

Further Reading and Resources:

• Citizen Lab’s “Dark Basin” investigation
• Inside Climate News’ "The Road Not Taken" series
• Wall Street Journal and Reuters reporting on global hack-for-hire schemes

Next Week: The battle over U.S. public lands turns deadly as a fundamentalist family occupies a wildlife refuge.
“There are things more important than your life and freedom is one of them.” — Kurt Davies [41:13]

Produced by Zach Goldbaum and the Wondery team.