Starting about 1:30 pm Manila time (GMT 5:30+), Hackers shared a message in twitter: Qatar #down and following that, they swtich off government and private websites using the .qa extension. These includes facebook, aljazerra and Government - Military websites, and google.
The Syrian Electronic Army gain access to the Qatar Domain Registrar (portal.registry.qa) who is being managed by Qatar's Ministry of Informaiton and Communication (ictQatar). They modified the DNS entires to redirect websites to servers controlled by hackers, serving defacement page with a picture of Assad and the groups logo. ( see the screenshot )
Hackers posted the list of targeted websites in twitter - these include:
moi.gov.qa
facebook.qa
gov.qa
vodafone.qa
aljazeera.net.qa
google.com.qa
ooredoo.com.qa
diwan.gov.qa
qaf.mil.qa
mofa.gov.qa
Another screenshot of unauthorize access posted by SEA (Syrian Electronic Army) in twitter. (screenshot)
The SEA's high-profile media hacking spree began earlier this year. Some of the victims are; The Financial Times, The Guardian, Washington Post, and the Associated Press.
Until now some reporting websites they hijacked are still showing the deface page, while other are now down.
