1. Major Breach of Qatar National Bank: In the Spring of 2016 Qatar National Bank faced a significant data leak. The attackers targetted databases of the bank to steal about 15,500 documents (reaching approximately 1.4 GB in size) with sensitive client information and bank corporate files. By exploiting SQL injection, the hackers were able to access thousands of account passwords and credit card credentials, which were published on the whistleblower website Cryptome. The breach affected many bank customers along with the government officials and media outlets. Despite the serious concerns about the situation, the bank claimed that no financial damage was inflicted, which precluded a proper investigation.
2. Virus Attack on RasGas: In the end of 2012 a large group of global-scale energy companies from the U.S., Qatar and Saudi Arabia faced the Shamoon virus which allegedly originated in Iran. One of such companies was, unfortunately, Qatari gas giant RasGas. The virus targetted the hard drives of the computers, which effectively hindered the company's IT processes for several days. The IT specialists of RasGas had to isolate a plentiful of computers to mitigate the impact of the virus. The virus attack resulted in a temporary shut down of company's website and corporate email services. An investigation from the U.S. intelligence sources attributed the attack to Iran.
