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An Arab group of hackers going by the name Al-Toufan (The Blood) recently claimed to have shut down the official website of Bahrain International Airport. The group said that the malicious activity was launched to mark the 12th anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising.
Aside from the Bahrain Airport website, Al-Toufan claimed to have also taken down the websites of the country’s news platform and government group, the Bahrain News Agency, and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce.
Meanwhile, a pro-government newspaper news agency in Bahrain, Akhbar Al Khaleej, had its website also shut down by the group and is still down as of writing.
The airport’s website being offline taken at least 30 minutes before going back up again. In a post shared by the threat group, they said that their activities were to support the revolution of all oppressed people in Bahrain.
The government of Bahrain addressed the hacking of the country’s airport and news agency websites in a statement.
Based on the statement of Bahrain’s spokesperson, the malicious cyberattacks on the affected websites had not affected critical government operations. Furthermore, authorities have been working to help restore access to the targeted platforms and websites.
However, the government’s statement did not mention the threat group behind the cyberattacks despite Al-Toufan claiming them as their works.
Arab Spring is a wave of protests, armed rebellion, and uprisings executed by pro-democracy dissidents in the Middle East and North Africa. The uprisings began in 2010 that defied deep-rooted authoritarian regimes, only to wane in mid-2012 due to the protesters receiving violent responses from law enforcers.
Cybercriminal groups have been known for launching cyberattacks to disrupt business operations, spy, or steal critical data from their targets. However, some also launch campaigns to conduct politically motivated attacks to challenge governments, systems, or organisations that stand against their moral position.
