The proregime syrian electronic army, has been implicated in the defacement of government and press websites, including that of forbes magazine9. The syrian electronic army sea sprang up in 2011 at the beginning of the antiassad revolution. Also, the hacktivist collective known as anonymous has been involved in online attacks against government and organizations such as the church of scientology. Syrian electronic army sea hackers have reportedly obtained documents that reveal how much money the fbi pays microsoft each time agents try to obtain or. Alien labs 2019 analysis of threat groups molerats and apt. The documents which were accessed and downloaded by syrian electronic army after a series of hacking attack over microsoft in january this year. Thats one takeaway from the ongoing exploits of the syrian electronic army, a selfdescribed group of grassroots syrian hackers who support syrian president bashar alassad. Posts about syrian electronic army written by computerpo. Federal bureau of investigation fbi has officially placed the sea on an advisory list. Mar 21, 2014 a collection of emails hacked by the group syrian electronic army shows that microsoft charges the fbis digital intercept technology unit for user data. It is worth noting that june 6, 20 marked the oneyear anniversary of the world ipv6 launch event, itself a followon to world ipv6. A claimed cyber attack by the syrian electronic army prosyrian regime hackers on the new york times sparks more questions about the group. Syrian electronic army sea hackers have made their place on the fbis most wanted list.
Hackers use old lure on web to help syrian government. Sea has stolen invoices that shows microsoft charges fbi for. The syrian electronic army a hacktivist group request pdf. The group of hackers loyal to syrian president bashar alassad has stolen documents relating to government data requests, adrienne hall, microsofts trustworthy computing group general manager, wrote in a blog post. Al assad regime in syria and the syrian electronic army sea.
Quantum of surveillance electronic frontier foundation. Hacked emails show what microsoft charges the fbi for user data fbi files leaked by the syrian electronic army show microsoft charges hundreds of thousands of dollars per month. Oct 25, 20 pdf documents taken by anonymous hackers from syrias patent office. Turkguvenligi, who is thought to be responsible, sprayed digital graffiti on the seas homepage which chastised the syrian electronic army for their activities. The syrian electronic army sea, a wellequipped group of progovernment hackers had been born. Using spamming, website defacement, malware, phishing, and denialofservice attacks, it has targeted terrorist organizations, political opposition groups, western news outlets, human rights groups and websites that are seemingly neutral to the syrian conflict. Virtual army in a civil war beware patriotic syrian hackers holding a media grudge. The syrian electronic army sea did some damage when it hijacked the associated press twitter account, sending a tweet reporting an explosion at the white house and causing a spasm on wall street. In the emergence of open and organized progovernment cyber attacks in the middle east. The syrian electronic army coordinates hacking attempts from their own facebook page, and has defaced or disabled a number of websites with. Syrian electronic army gets a taste of its own medicine.
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u. A collection of emails hacked by the group syrian electronic army shows that microsoft charges the fbis digital intercept technology unit for user data. Pdf this paper investigates the online hacking group, the syrian electronic army sea, and examines its goals. Syrian electronic army, known as pro bashar ul assad group has been labeled as a terrorist organization by u. All of a sudden, the syrian electronic armys attacks on microsoft have become a lot more than just a minor nuisance. May 25, 20 a group of hackers attempted to break into the city of haifas water system computer network, according to an israeli security expert. Jan 21, 2014 the syrian electronic army made good on its promise to microsoft, once again hacking into the tech giants websitethe third time in less than a month hours after redmond unveiled its. Much has been said about the syrian electronic army sea, most by sea leadership. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page. Fbi labels syrian electronic army as terrorist organization. Army judge advocate general, is a military professor at the stockton center for the study of international law at the united states naval war college. Sep 29, 2016 syrian electronic army goon extradited from germany now coughs to hacking, extortion. The prohacker group, very well known as syrian electronic army sea aligned with president bashar alassad, had recently taken down forbes website, sending a reminder to the international community that cyber warfare is alive and well, and this time the group has targeted u. Syrian electronic army releases secret documents from.
No more than a week ago hackers of the group syrian electronic army sea published online documents leaked from us centcom repository, now the pro president bashar alassad sad hacking team successfully penetrated. Ipv6 deployment and adoption is a topic that has been covered in the state of the internet report in some fashion over the last five years, and is an area that is of critical importance to the future of the internet. Army does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these. Findings this paper determines that the syrian electronic army is. Syrian electronic army strikes microsoft again pcmag. The syrian electronic army sea is a group of computer hackers which first surfaced online in.
Cultural awareness islamic, arabic, and muslim culture. Pdf syrian electronic army rudiger lohlker academia. Using spamming, website defacement, malware, phishing, and denialofservice attacks, it has targeted terrorist organizations, political opposition groups, western news outlets, human rights groups and websites that are seemingly. Syrian electronic army may have stolen government data. Articles close enough the link between the syrian electronic.
Army of this web site or the information, products, or services contained therein. This electronic representation of rand intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. District court of the eastern district of virginia. Three syrian nationals, all current or former members of the syrian electronic army sea, were charged with multiple conspiracies related to computer hacking, according to two criminal complaints unsealed today here in the u. The case of the syrian electronic army, the information warfare monitors helmi noman started documenting the activities of the syrian electronic army sea, which appears to be a case of an. A new unclassified document written by the us army describes the threat and methods employed by the syrian electronic army in its propagandist war against supporters of the rebels in syrias civil war. These kcehoneypotk social media accounts were linked to other accounts used by the syrian electronic army hacker operation. March 20 elizabeth obagy middle east security report.
Syrian electronic army placed on fbi wanted list zdnet. Techworm managed to get some of the screenshots of the invoices raised by microsoft on fbi. Two fugitives believed to be in syria added to fbi cybers most wanted. Iran has built an army of cyberproxies jordan brunner. Syrian electronic army sea benefited from iranian expertise, money, and technology to attack antiassad social media and web sites. Treadstone 71 will provide links to all source documents for third party analysis as required. Syrian hackers claim to reveal how much fbi pays microsoft.
From the ap via abc news speaking at a lecture on saturday in the southern city of beersheba, yitzhak ben yisrael, israels former cyber security adviser, said that a group calling itself the syrian electronic army had launched the failed attack two. Syrian electronic army hacks official us army website. Sep 06, 20 the syrian electronic army sea is now officially on the fbis cybercriminal wanted list. Since 2011, war has ravaged the country of syria through conflict waged among syrian president bashir alassads forces, nonstate groups like the islamic state in iraq and the levant isil and jabhat al. The seas cyber operations gradually subsided as the conflict progressed and by 2016 it appeared that the group had ceased to operate.
Familiar actors and possible false flags in syrian malware campaigns malware attacks targeting the syrian opposition were first publicly reported in early 2012, but observed as early as late 2011. The associated press news agency is the latest western news organisation to fall victim to the syrian electronic armys cyber war, with a false tweet about an. Alien labs 2019 analysis of threat groups molerats and aptc. A section on leaks see below shows the documents retrieved from hacked qatari, turkish resources. Federal bureau of investigation fbi has officially placed the sea on an advisory list following a series of cyber attacks on government and media giants. Syrian electronic army goon extradited from germany now coughs to hacking, extortion. Syrian electronic army sea is the group of hackers that most of all is threatening the giants. A member of the free syrian army stands guard at a checkpoint after clashes.
Limited electronic distribution rights this document and trademarks contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. Syrian electronic army organized crime financial gain theft of credit cards and pii, ach fraud advanced persistent threat organized crime presents financial risk to all organizations. The syrian electronic army, also known as the syrian electronic soldiers, is a collection of progovernment computer hackers aligned with syrian president bashar alassad. Computer hacking conspiracy charges unsealed against members of syrian electronic army. Details emerge about syrian electronic armys recent. The syrian electronic army a hacktivist group emerald insight. The syrian electronic army sea most likely began at least in part as an outgrowth of the syrian computer society scs, an internet and information science advocacy group founded by the late basil alassad in 1989, and later led by bashar alassad prior to his elevation to the presidency. Motherboard published an interesting report on an espionage campaign led by the syrian. Two from syrian electronic army added to cybers most wanted amad umar agha, left, and firas dardar were charged in federal court with multiple conspiracies related to computer hacking. Syria and its civil war has taken the worlds center stage with the recent news about nerve gas and whether the united states will take some form of military action as a result its use. The syrian electronic army acquired the documents and proposed, via an intermediary, to publish them in alakhbar and on the syrian website ajel breaking news, simultaneously. The syrian electronic army sea is now officially on the fbis cybercriminal wanted list. Jan 24, 2014 the syrian electronic army sea most likely began at least in part as an outgrowth of the syrian computer society scs, an internet and information science advocacy group founded by the late basil alassad in 1989, and later led by bashar alassad prior to his elevation to the presidency. The syrian electronic armys latest hack on microsofts skype messaging service opened the groups new year of hijacking social media accounts, as questions remain about who its.
Pdf documents taken by anonymous hackers from syrias patent office. The syrian electronic army is a group of computer hackers which first surfaced online in 2011 to support the government of syrian president bashar alassad. It has also hacked government websites in the middle east and europe, as well as. Sea has stolen invoices that shows microsoft charges fbi. Syrian electronic army investigating internet crimes. Syrian electronic army sea hackers have reportedly obtained documents that reveal how much money the fbi pays microsoft each time agents try to obtain or view an individual customers communication information. Obtained by an internet journalist, it has been posted on scribd.
Leaked documents shows how much microsoft charges fbi for. The associated press news agency is the latest western news organisation to fall victim to the syrian electronic armys cyber war, with a false tweet about an explosion at the white house causing a sudden albeit brief dip in the dow jones index by up to 140 points. Screenshot of an alleged facebook message sent to the syrian electronic army notifying them of their page removal. Sea had on announced soon after the attack that they will soon release the documents in public. Computer hacking conspiracy charges unsealed against members. A new mac osx trojan of unknown origin that announces itself as coming from the syrian electronic army. Cyberattacks by the syrian electronic army prosyrian regime hackers. Foreign governments economic, political, and military advantage.
Dec 23, 20 one example includes the attacker sending the target a message about documents and maps showing the movements of fighting groups. Strategic development of special warfare in cyberspace. That is believed to have been done through documents. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and mwr sites, the u. A member of the free syrian army stands guard at a checkpoint after clashes with progovernment forces in. Schmitt and sasha radin for their thoughts and comments. The syrian electronic army sea is a group of computer hackers which first surfaced online in 2011 to support the government of syrian president bashar alassad. The team of the syrian electronic army presents itself. Since 2015, however, aptc37 has broadened their objectives to include government agencies, armed forces leadership, media organizations, political activists, and diplomats.
Hackers use old lure on web to help syrian government the. Federal bureau of investigation fbi and now listed on their website in most wanted list the u. Anonymous hackers leak data from syrian patent office. Aptc37, also known as patbear or the syrian electronic army sea, was first seen in october 2015 targeting members of a terrorist organization. Three syrian nationals, all current or former members of the syrian electronic army sea, were charged with multiple conspiracies related to computer hacking, according to two criminal complaints unsealed today in the u. Within this report, all representations represent our view of the best and most consistent ways of attributing attacks we have been seeing, based not only on published claims, but on analysis of the tools, tactics, and procedures that tend to provide a consistent signature for different. Computer hacking conspiracy charges unsealed against. A turkish hacking group gave the syrian electronic army a dose of their own medicine by defacing the sea website. Jan 15, 2020 aptc37, also known as patbear or the syrian electronic army sea, was first seen in october 2015 targeting members of a terrorist organization. Nonexistent women chat up syrian rebels on skype nextgov. Three months ago, i got a pdf file on my email with more than 40,000 names of people they have detained, and that file came from activists.
Cyberattacks by the syrian electronic army prosyrian regime hackers spark more questions about the group. On its website, the syrian electronic army says it was created in 2011 when the arab and western media started their bias in favor of terrorist groups that have killed civilians, the syrian arab. Unauthorized posting of rand electronic documents to a nonrand website is. Mar 20, 2014 hacked emails show what microsoft charges the fbi for user data fbi files leaked by the syrian electronic army show microsoft charges hundreds of thousands of dollars per month. Syrian electronic army facebook page announces that over 50 websites have been attacked, and that it did not destroy content of any of the. The syrian electronic army did not offer proof of its responsibility, nor did it send any tweets from the ap account championing its cause, possibly because it was shut down so quickly. The theft of the rebel battle plans stands in contrast to the cybervandalism carried out in recent years by the syrian electronic army, which american intelligence. Request pdf the syrian electronic army a hacktivist group purpose the. The syrian electronic army is the first arab organization to set up a public. Syrian hackers claim ap hack that tipped stock market by.
A cyber attack by syrian electronic army may be assads. Syrian electronic army launched cyberattack on israeli citys. The views expressed are the authors own and do not. Us army document discusses and warns on syrian electronic army.
Fireeye uncovered the attack while researching malware hidden in pdf documents, which are commonly used to share letters, books or other images. This week, after the parody site became the latest publication to have its twitter account hacked by the syrian electronic army, the onion took a more serious note, explaining in a detailed blog post how the companys account was hacked, and warning others how to avoid the exploit. The bab alsalameh border crossing under syrian rebel control. Syrian electronic army goon extradited from germany now. Syrian electronic army hacked the us centcom and it is threatening to leak secret documents due us decision to hit syria with electronic warfare attacks. Two from syrian electronic army added to cybers most. Three syrian nationals, all current or former members of the syrian electronic army sea, were charged with multiple conspiracies related to computer hacking, according to two criminal complaints unsealed today here. The world renowned syrian hacktivists form syrian electronic army sea hacked and defaced the official website of united states army earlier today 9th june, 2015 hackers left a deface page along with a message on the hacked us army website, blaming the country for training and sending terrorists to fight the syrian president bashar al assad. The syrian electronic army hacked into harvard universitys homepage, replacing photos on the website with an image of assad and the words syrian electronic army were here. The syrian electronic army an introductory reading list financial. Syrian electronic army archives security affairssecurity. It successfully punked famous satire newspaper the onion, taking over its twitter account and using it to send messages criticizing u. Syrian group hacks skype 2 january 2014 in this photo illustration, the skype internet phone program is seen september 1, 2009 in new york city the syrian electronic army hacker group set its.
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