The websites of two government ministries in Bahrain have become temporarily inaccessible after being taken down by a cyber attack over the Kingdom of Bahrain’s position on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The websites of two government ministries in Bahrain were temporarily inaccessible Tuesday night after they were taken down by a cyber attack over the island kingdom’s stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
A statement posted online by a self-styled group calling itself Al-Tufan (Arabic for “Flood”) claimed that the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Information had been hacked. Both were later accessible.
Another statement included scans of the passports of an American citizen and a top Russian diplomat in Bahrain that were allegedly hacked.
The statement said the hack was carried out in retaliation for “unusual statements” made by the island’s al-Khalifa ruling family, but did not elaborate. Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa held a summit in Saudi Arabia last week, calling for an end to the hostage exchange and bloodshed between Hamas and Israel.
A Bahraini government statement sent to The Associated Press late Tuesday night acknowledged that “a number of government agency websites were targeted by malicious cyberattacks today.”
“The Government of Bahrain has introduced a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy and framework to address such threats,” it said in a statement. “Government operations are not affected by the attack and work is underway to restore access to the targeted websites.”
In February, the self-styled group claimed to have shut down the websites of Bahrain’s international airport, state news agency and chamber of commerce to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the Arab Spring uprisings in the small Gulf nation. The same shadowy self-styled group targeted government websites during last year’s elections, which were boycotted by banned Shiite dissidents and others.
Bahrain, along with the United Arab Emirates, signed a diplomatic recognition agreement with Israel in 2020. The island nation, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, has repeatedly drawn criticism from its regional rival Iran over the issue.
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