Feds charge three alleged pro-Assad hackers in Syria

The Justice Department on Tuesday unveiled charges against three alleged members of the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), a hacking group supporting the Syrian government.

SEA has gained notoriety for hijacking news organizations’ Twitter accounts and knocking their websites offline. The group has also conducted a years-long campaign to infiltrate U.S. government networks, including the Executive Office of the President, according to Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors.

{mosads}The DOJ accused at least three people of helping in these endeavors: Ahmad Umar Agha, a 22-year-old who goes by the online moniker “The Pro”; Firas Dardar, a 27-year-old whose online alias is “The Shadow”; and Peter Romar, 36.  

All three are charged with numerous crimes, including extortion, engaging in a hoax regarding a terrorist attack and unauthorized access to computer networks.

“These three members of the Syrian Electronic Army targeted and compromised computer systems in order to provide support to [Syrian President Bashar Assad], as well as for their own personal monetary gain through extortion,” said Paul Abbate, the assistant director in charge at the FBI’s Washington field office.

The FBI has added Agha and Dardar to its most wanted list of cyber criminals, offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to their arrest. Both are believed to be in Syria, the FBI said.

Prosecutors say the trio has spent years helping SEA go after high-profile media outlets, as well as U.S. government employees.

Agha and Dardar specifically were allegedly behind barrages of so-called spear phishing attacks, which use fake emails designed to lure people into giving up personal information. Frequently, they would ask for login details, then use that information to infiltrate Twitter accounts.

The tactic gained attention in April 2013, when SEA hijacked an Associated Press Twitter account and tweeted “Breaking: Two explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured.”

Later, SEA got into a recruiting website for the U.S. Marine Corps and defaced it with language encouraging marines to “refuse” any orders.

“The allegations in the complaint demonstrate that the line between ordinary criminal hackers and potential national security threats is increasingly blurry,” Assistant Attorney General John Carlin said.