Qatar accuses UAE of hack
> Four Arab powers discuss new sanctions on Doha
DOHA: Qatar said on Monday that a US media report had shown that the UAE was involved in an alleged hack of Qatar’s state news agency in late May that helped spark a diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
But UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash told the Chatham House think-tank in London “the Washington Post story today that we actually hacked the Qataris is not true”.
He said the four Arab powers were in the process of discussing additional sanctions on Qatar but did not elaborate, saying only that “there will be some tightening of the screws”.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt all cut off diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing militant groups and allying with their regional adversary Iran – allegations Qatar denies.
The move came two weeks after Qatar News Agency (QNA) carried a story quoting Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, as praising Gaza’s ruling Hamas movement and calling Iran an “Islamic power”.
Qatar said its emir had never given the speech, and that the story had been planted electronically, but its allies were outraged, and one of the most serious feuds in years between Western-aligned Gulf states began.
“The information published in the Washington Post on July 16, which revealed the involvement of the UAE and senior Emirati officials in the hacking of Qatar News Agency, unequivocally proves that this hacking crime took place,” Qatar’s government said in a statement on Monday.
US officials have said FBI experts helping Qatar investigate the incident are convinced QNA was hacked, but that identifying the culprit will take time.
In the meantime, Qatar’s neighbours have banned its aircraft from their airspace, among other measures, and the wealthy natural gas producer had to find alternative sources for the food imports on which it relies.
The Washington Post cited unidentified US intelligence officials as saying they had learned last week of newly analysed information showing that top UAE officials had discussed the planned hacks on May 23, the day before they occurred.
If confirmed, a hack of QNA would be a striking example of a cyber attack shaping global politics.
The officials were quoted as saying it was unclear if the UAE had hacked the sites itself or paid for them to be hacked.
Qatar’s neighbours had already rejected its explanation and said Sheikh Tamim’s reported remarks reflected deliberate ambiguities in Doha’s policies that have undermined regional stability. – Reuters