From Bahraini government websites briefly inaccessible after cyberattack linked to Israel-Hamas war
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The websites of two government ministries in Bahrain briefly became inaccessible last night after a cyberattack took them down, purportedly over the island kingdom’s stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
A statement posted online by a self-described group calling itself Al-Toufan, or “The Flood” in Arabic, claims hacking the Foreign Ministry and the Information Affairs Ministry’s websites. Both later became accessible.
Another statement includes scans of passports for American citizens and a top Russian diplomat in Bahrain that allegedly came from the hack.
The statement says the hacks came in retaliation for “the abnormal statements issued” by the island’s Al Khalifa ruling family, without elaborating. Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa opened a summit last week in the kingdom by condemning the October 7 Hamas onslaught, while calling for the release of hostages and a halt to the fighting.
A Bahrain government statement sent to The Associated Press acknowledges that “a number of government agency websites have today been the target of malicious cyberattacks.”
“The government of Bahrain has implemented a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy and framework to address such threats,” the statement says. “Government operations were unaffected by the attacks, and work is ongoing to restore access to the targeted websites.”
In February, the self-described group issued a claim that it had taken down the websites of Bahrain’s international airport, state news agency and chamber of commerce to mark the 12-year anniversary of an Arab Spring uprising in the small Gulf country. The same shadowy self-described group targeted government websites during elections held last year that were boycotted by a banned Shiite opposition group and others.
Bahrain reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel in 2020 alongside the United Arab Emirates. The island kingdom, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, has drawn repeated criticism from Iran, its regional arch rival, over that.
