French senator Nathalie Goulet and former European football boss Michel Platini are among some 100 people whose private data was hacked following criticism of Qatar, an investigation by British journalists has revealed. The Qatari government denies it has played any part in commissioning the eavesdropping.
The investigation, led by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, found that an India-based computer hacking gang targeted critics of the Qatar World Cup and the Gulf state more generally.
The gang's leaked database revealed the hacking of lawyers, journalists and public figures from 2019 "commissioned by one particular client", the newspaper and the bureau said on Sunday.
"This investigation points strongly to this client being the host of [the] World Cup: Qatar," it said, prompting the Qatari authorities to describe the allegation as "patently false and without merit".
Among the people targeted was Michel Platini, the French former head of European football.
Platini, who was hacked ahead of talks with French police about World Cup related graft claims, told AFP he was "surprised and deeply shocked" by the report.
He said he would be exploring all possible legal avenues over what appeared to be a serious "violation" of his privacy.
Over 100 targeted
The controversy comes two weeks before the World Cup is due to kick off in the conservative Gulf state on 20 November.
But hacking attacks were not limited to those with an interest in the World Cup.
In total more than 100 victims had their private email accounts targeted by the gang "on behalf of investigators working for autocratic states, British lawyers and their wealthy clients", the report said.
The gang also seized control of computers owned by Pakistani politicians and generals and had their conversations monitored, "apparently at the behest of the Indian secret services", the Sunday Times added.
Nathalie Goulet, a French politician and vocal critic of Qatar for allegedly financing Islamic terrorism, was also targeted.
She described having her personal emailed hacked as "shocking and very unpleasant" and said she was filing a lawsuit.
Affaires de #hacking de ma boîte #gmailhack j’ai confié la défense de mes intérêts à l’excellentissime @h2brgrd et à l’ancien bâtonnier du barreau de #Douai @AlainCockenpot @AvocatsDouai @villedouai #Qatar pic.twitter.com/7XmkMFfqDU
— Nathalie Goulet زن زندگی آزادی, (@senateur61) November 7, 2022
Radical Islam
The centrist senator has spoken out against the Muslim Brotherhood and published "L'Abécédaire du financement du terrorisme" (The A to Z of financing terrorism) earlier this year.
Goulet said she learned of the hacking via Sunday’s article, but recalled a phone call around eight to 10 months ago from "a man saying he was an investigator but who didn’t introduce himself".
He knew the password for her Gmail account, told her it had been hacked and advised she take the necessary measures.
She changed all her passwords and installed an encrypting device.
"I’m just a modest provincial, centrist senator doing my job and working on radical Islam," she told AFP.
Goulet has also denounced and voted against conventions signed between France and Qatar, including a partnership on security at the World Cup.
"I also point out at every opportunity that, thanks to an advantageous fiscal convention, Qatar uses France as a tax haven," she added. "I am probably a bit irritating but this is not a reason to steal my email account."
'No evidence'
The Sunday Times alleged that the hacking was masterminded by a 31-year-old accountancy firm employee, who denies the claims.
Based in a suburb of the Indian tech city of Gurugram near Delhi, his network of computer hackers allegedly ensnared their targets using "phishing" techniques to gain access to their email inboxes, sometimes also deploying malicious software to take control of their computer cameras and microphones.
A Qatari official rejected the allegations, describing the TBIJ report as "littered with glaring inconsistencies and falsehoods that undermine the credibility of their organisation".
"The report relies on a single source who claims his ultimate client was Qatar, despite there being no evidence to prove it," the official told AFP in a statement.
"Numerous companies have also boasted of non-existent ties to Qatar in an attempt to boost their profile in the run up to the World Cup.
"TBIJ's decision to publish the report without a single piece of credible evidence to connect their allegations to Qatar raises serious concerns about their motives, which appear to be driven by political, rather than public interest, reasons," the official added.
(with AFP)
