The Al Jazeera news network is fending off a massive cyberattack, according to a statement today. The Qatari-owned news organization claims that its website and broader media network are currently “undergoing systematic and continual hacking attempts.”
The nature of today’s attack is still unclear, although one researcher observed the issues extending as far as US-based DNS servers, which could indicate a broader network failure. The network did not respond to a request for comment.
“These attempts are gaining intensity and taking various forms,” the company said in a statement. “However, the platforms have not been compromised.” The attackers also targeted Al Jazeera’s accounts on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, although there’s no indication any accounts were compromised.
The attack comes just weeks after a previous compromise at the Qatar News Agency, a separate news agency also owned by the Qatari government. That compromise involved a massive theft of data, ultimately triggering a diplomatic incident after fabricated remarks attributed to the Emir of Qatar were published alongside leaked data from the compromise.
In the wake of the incident, a number of neighboring countries cut off diplomatic ties to Qatar, and Al Jazeera itself has already been prohibited from broadcasting in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, among other countries. Reporters without Borders condemned the move, calling it “a political decision that amounts to censoring this TV broadcaster.”