The attackers breached the security systems of Qatar National Bank (QNB). Because of the breach, a large amount of private client data was exposed, including passwords, credit card numbers, account numbers, names, and personal information of Qatari citizens. It's still unknown what exactly the attackers did. It is assumed that the breach was caused by a deliberate attack on the bank's internal systems, maybe taking advantage of the security weakness in the web infrastructure of the bank or by phishing attempts that leaked internal staff credentials. After being attacked, the data was available online. The breach impacted lots of QNB customers, those were people and organizations in Qatar and around the world. The leaked data included information on Qatari citizens, expatriates, members of the Al Thani ruling family.QNB, with the help of international cybersecurity experts, investigated the breach to understand how it happened and minimize the damage.
Aljazeera NewsAttackers targeted Qatar's important systems, mainly energy companies. The Shamoon malware hit RasGas in 2012 and again in 2016. The malware deleted data, broke systems, and badly affected energy production technology.The destructive malware Shamoon caused data corruption and serious IT system damage. the attackers probably obtained the Initial access using phishing. The malware wipes out the Master Boot Record (MBR) of affected machines, making data recovery impossible without backups. Because of the Gulf tensions, Iran is suspected of being behind Shamoon, which is believed to have been created by a state-sponsored group. RasGas faced major disruptions in 2012. Both the 2012 and 2016 Shamoon attacks put Qatar's energy sector and other vital infrastructures at risk. The impact also spread to other Gulf states, raising regional security concerns.. The local Qatari cybersecurity teams worked with the international security team to investigate the attack. The Shamoon malware was also being studied in Saudi Arabia. Security firms analyzed the malware's code and the methodology of the spread to determine its origin and if it was connected to state-sponsored actors.
RasGas Hit with Virus Attack