QATAR WORLD CUP CRITICS TARGETED BY HACKING GANG

According to a British journalist investigation published on Sunday, a computer hacking gang operating out of India targeted critics of the Qatar World Cup. The Qatari authorities vehemently denied any involvement in the eavesdropping activity.

The hacking of a dozen lawyers, journalists, and prominent individuals from 2019 was "commissioned by one particular client," according to a database that was leaked to Britain's Sunday Times and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the newspaper and the bureau claimed in a statement.

“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”.

Michel Platini, the former head of European football, was one of those targeted.

Platini said AFP he was "surprised and deeply shocked" by the report after learning he had been hacked prior to talks with French police regarding World Cup-related graft claims.

He said that he will pursue all available legal options in response to what seemed to be a major "violation" of his privacy.

According to the Sunday Times' report based on the joint investigation, London-based consultant Ghanem Nuseibeh, whose company Cornerstone published a report on corruption related to the World Cup, was also targeted.

Others included German-based lawyer Mark Somos, who had filed a complaint against the Qatari royal family with the United Nations Human Rights Council, and Nathalie Goulet, a vocal critic of Qatar for allegedly funding "Islamic terrorism." The controversy occurs two weeks before the World Cup is scheduled to begin on November 20 in the conservative Gulf state.

A 31-year-old employee of an accounting firm was accused in the newspaper of planning the hacking, although he disputes the allegations.

Based in a Gurugram suburb close to Delhi, his network of computer hackers allegedly used "phishing" tactics to access his targets' email inboxes and occasionally used malicious software to seize control of their computers' cameras and microphones. However, hacking attempts were not just made by people who were interested in the World Cup in Qatar. The report stated that the gang targeted more than 100 victims' private email accounts "on behalf of investigators working for autocratic nations, British lawyers and their rich clients.