A US court case unfolding on Wednesday, July 15th, 2026, could reveal the identity of those who hired hackers to target American climate activists critical of ExxonMobil. The activists were subjected to a wave of phishing emails in 2016 as they sought to hold Exxon accountable for allegedly misleading the public about climate change.

In 2015, media reports disclosed that ExxonMobil’s own scientists had recognized as early as 1982 that fossil fuel extraction and combustion contributed to the climate crisis. Despite this, ExxonMobil reportedly funded climate denial campaigns, prompting investigations by attorneys general.

Kert Davies, founder of the Climate Investigations Center, a group monitoring the fossil fuel industry, received over 80 phishing emails, including one disguised as a colleague sharing a document titled “ExxonMobil (confidential).docx.” A Department of Justice investigation later confirmed that more than 100 victims, including Exxon critics, were successfully hacked.

The FBI reportedly investigated DCI Group, a lobbying firm with longstanding ties to ExxonMobil, in connection with the hacking operation. Public records from Open Secrets indicate Exxon was a major client of DCI Group, spending over $3 million on lobbying, including $320,000 in 2015, the year the hacking was allegedly commissioned.

Azari, an Israeli private investigator who pleaded guilty to hacking charges in 2022 after years in a New York prison, denied knowledge of the client who commissioned the attacks. Reviewing the Forlit indictment, she believed she was identified as Victim 3 and expressed hope that the trial would disclose communications between the companies and hackers.

The oil giant has denied any involvement in the hacking. Meanwhile, climate activists remain closely engaged with the trial, seeking answers about the decade-old operation. One victim said, “So any furtherance of that story and that proof is really important to me, personally, and to a lot of the people who were attacked by this operation 10 years ago. It’s personal, because I really don’t like bullies or liars or cheaters.”