Al-Jazeera fends off cyber attacks

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 10 June 2021

Al-Jazeera has successfully defended against a series of cyber attacks aimed at its websites and channels. The attacks peaked coinciding with sensitive news coverage over the weekend.

Summary

DOHA—Qatar-based satellite television network Al-Jazeera has faced continual failed hacking attempts over recent days.

Official websites and other affiliated platforms experienced "continued electronic attacks aimed at accessing, disrupting and controlling some of the news platforms" from last Saturday to Tuesday, Al-Jazeera said in a statement.

The peak of the cyber-attacks came on Sunday ahead of a documentary described on Al-Jazeera's Arabic YouTube channel about indirect talks between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. The documentary also included a voice recording purportedly of an Israeli held prisoner in Gaza.

"Al Jazeera's service provider was able to monitor and fend off all the hacking attacks and prevent them from achieving their goal," the statement further said. No further details are shared so far.

KEY POINTS:

• Al-Jazeera faced continuous hacking attempts over several days.
• The peak occurred during the airing of a sensitive documentary.
• The network's service provider successfully mitigated all attacks.
• No specific details about the attacks have been disclosed.
• The attacks were aimed at disrupting access to news platforms.