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General Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency, was found to have invested in a technology company tied to AT&T and iPhone sales.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) During his time as director of the National Security Agency, General Keith Alexander made investments in a technology company closely tied to AT&T.

According to a story by the Daily Beast, Alexander bought and sold tens of thousands of dollars of stock in a New Jersey-based company called Synchronoss Technologies Inc., which helps synchronize personal information across multiple devices.

The company also provided AT&T T, -0.14% with technology that helped it lock iPhones onto their network when they were the sole distributor, which the report said would have helped Alexander profit.

While Alexander was running the NSA, the agency was pouring AT&T subscribers phone records into a database and had also installed surveillance equipment in some AT&T offices.

Alexanders financial forms show he bought shares in Synchronoss worth between $1,001 and $15,000 after Synchronoss shares plummeted by 43% after it announced materially lower growth expectations in May 2008. Alexanders financial forms show he made less than $201 in 2008, essentially breaking even on his investing portfolio. This means he potentially lost money on the Synchronoss trades.

The news comes after it was revealed Alexander traded shares in commodities firms, including the Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan and the Aluminum Company of China, during his time as NSA chief. However, an ethics officer at the agency said no conflicts of interests appear to exist.

Representatives for Alexanders consulting firm, Ironnet Cybersecurity Inc., could not be reached for comment but in October, the NSA released a statement on ethics saying that it aids employees in identifying conflicts of interest and agency ethics counselors perform an independent review and when conflicts are found, the agency finds a suitable remedy.

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Former NSA chief invested in company tied to AT&T