Russian Intelligence Hacked UK-Based Islam Channel in 2015

Islam Channel | Asharq Al-Awsat
Islam Channel | Asharq Al-Awsat
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Russian Intelligence Hacked UK-Based Islam Channel in 2015

Islam Channel | Asharq Al-Awsat
Islam Channel | Asharq Al-Awsat

Dozens of British Muslims have been left in shock after Russian military intelligence agents launched a 2015 cyber-attack on UK-based TV station the Islam Channel, channel owner Mohamed Ali Harrath told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The incident at the time gave Kremlin-backed hackers complete control over the broadcaster’s computer networks.

According to the Financial Times newspaper, Russian intelligence had been targeting the channel’s database for a while, going unnoticed until British security services informed channel management of what’s going on in 2015.

Islam Channel is a 24-hour, free-to-air broadcaster based in Ilford in the eastern suburbs of London, but which transmits its programs to Europe, Africa and Asia.

It confirmed at the time that the cyber-attack was launched on a state level and not carried out by the occasional group of amateur surveillance hackers.

Islam Channel is popular among several million Muslims living in Britain.

"Our media success is what drives enmity against us,” he said in a phone interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Government statistics show that 60 percent of British Muslims follow the channel's programs,” added Harrath.

“Although we have changed the cyberinfrastructure of the station, which costs a lot of money, we may still be hacked,” Harrath, a Tunisian Islamist, told Asharq Al Awsat.

Harrath brands Islam Channel as “a voice for those without a voice” or “the voice of the oppressed.”

“We are the first English-speaking broadcaster transmitting from the heart of Europe,” he added.

Islam Channel reaches up to 100 countries worldwide. It airs on eight different satellites across five continents. There are 30 million Muslims in Russia watching around-the-clock programs aired by the channel, Harrath said.

“Since the station launched, we provided coverage for many Islamic activities in Russia, including the Holy Quran Award in Moscow in 2015, and never attacked Russian interests or policies around the world,” he added.

“Russian intelligence hackers were in control of everything. They could see everything we were doing, and we could not send and receive e-mails within weeks, leaving us feeling helpless.”



US Imposes Iran-Related Sanctions on Third China ‘Teapot’ Refinery, Port Terminal

 A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)
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US Imposes Iran-Related Sanctions on Third China ‘Teapot’ Refinery, Port Terminal

 A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on a third Chinese independent - or "teapot" - oil refinery, and port terminal operators in China for purchases of Iranian oil.

The US Treasury designated the Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group refinery and three companies for operating a terminal at Dongying Port in Shandong Province. It said they had purchased or facilitated the delivery of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian oil.

It was the latest independent Chinese refinery targeted by the Trump administration after it re-imposed a policy of "maximum pressure" that aims to cut off Iran's export revenue to pressure Tehran into a deal to curb its nuclear program and stop the funding of militant groups across the Middle East.

"So long as Iran attempts to generate oil revenues to fund its destabilizing activities, the United States will hold both Iran and all its partners in sanctions evasion accountable," the US Treasury said in a statement.

Previous sanctions imposed on two small Chinese refiners for buying Iranian oil have created difficulties in receiving oil, leading them to halt purchases of crude and sell product under other names, sources familiar with the matter said.

Those sanctions have also begun to deter other, larger independent Chinese refiners from buying Iranian crude, three of the sources said.

Iran's UN mission in New York and China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The companies Treasury designated for operating the port terminal were Baogang (Dongying Donggang) Logistics and Warehousing Co, Ltd, Shandong Jingang Port Co, Ltd, and Shandong Baogang International Port Co, Ltd.

Treasury said the companies operate a terminal in Dongying Port that has received more than one million barrels of Iranian oil from shadow fleet tankers.

The sanctions block US assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them.