Hackers Target Bahrain Government Websites

The websites of two government ministries in Bahrain were briefly inaccessible after a cyberattack.

The websites of two government ministries in Bahrain were briefly inaccessible on Tuesday night after a cyberattack took them down. The attack was purportedly in response to the island kingdom's stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Hacking Claim

A statement posted online by a self-described group called Al-Toufan, or "The Flood" in Arabic, claimed responsibility for hacking the Foreign Ministry and the Information Affairs Ministry's websites. Both websites later became accessible.

Another statement included scans of passports for American citizens and a top Russian diplomat in Bahrain that allegedly came from the hack. The statement said the hacks came in retaliation for "the abnormal statements issued" by the island's Al Khalifa ruling family, without elaborating.

Crown Prince's Call

Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa opened a summit last week in the kingdom with a call for a swap between Hamas and Israel for the hostages and a halt in the bloodshed. A Bahrain government statement sent later Tuesday night to The Associated Press acknowledged that "a number of government agency websites have today been the target of malicious cyberattacks."

Government Response

The statement continued, "The government of Bahrain has implemented a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy and framework to address such threats. Government operations were unaffected by the attacks, and work is ongoing to restore access to the targeted websites."

Previous Attacks

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 U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, has drawn repeated criticism from Iran, its regional arch-rival, over that.