Adding to the scandal surrounding the “fake news” hack that precipitated the blockade of Qatar, the nation’s Interior Ministry is now saying they’ve successfully traced the origin of the hack to an IP address within the United Arab Emirates, adding that it was a sophisticated attack that clearly had “state resources” behind it.
Details on this are still scant, but it echoes a Sunday report in the Washington Post which quoted US intelligence officials as saying they’d intercepted communications related to the plot involving the leadership of the UAE the day before the hack took place.
On May 24, the hacker gained control of Qatar’s QNA state news agency, and planted a false story containing false quotes by the Qatari Emir. The quotes quickly made the rounds, fueling an angry backlash from Saudi Arabia, and its allies, ultimately leading to a blockade.
The UAE has blanketly denied being involved in the hacking of QNA, and their foreign minister downplayed the hack in general, insisting that their problems with neighboring Qatar go way beyond the phony quotes in the QNA.
