Not ‘Russian hackers’? Washington Post report accuses UAE of orchestrating Qatar media hack

‘A new report by the Washington Post, citing US intelligence, says there is evidence that the United Arab Emirates coordinated the hacking of Qatar’s state media agency (QNA), which led to the blockade of the Gulf monarchy. Previously, US media, citing the FBI, blamed the attack on “Russian hackers.”
The UAE government planned the infamous May 24 hacking of QNA, states the report citing US intelligence officials who were not named because of the “sensitive” character of the matter.
The reported evidence shows that on May 23, senior UAE officials discussed the implementation of the hack, which saw statements falsely attributed to Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, being run by QNA in a text-ticker on-air and on social media. Government Twitter handles were also hacked.
The fake statements, which spoke favorably of Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as of relations with Israel, provoke the ire of a number of Gulf states as well as Egypt, and Qatar was effectively cut off from the Arabian Peninsula with a blockade.’
Read more: Not ‘Russian hackers’? Washington Post report accuses UAE of orchestrating Qatar media hack