Syrian Electronic Army hacker sentenced to 42 months in U.S. prison
Original title: Syrian Hacker Behind Fake Tweet That Triggered $136 Billion Market Drop Gets 42 Months in Prison
Ahmad Umar Agha, known as Th3Pr0, was sentenced for phishing-based hacks of about 47 Western targets, including a fake AP tweet.
A U.S. federal court sentenced Syrian Electronic Army member Ahmad Umar Agha to 42 months for a hacking conspiracy against Western news outlets and other targets. The Justice Department said on October 29 that the conspiracy was organized by members of Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle and that Agha hijacked the Associated Press Twitter account on April 23, 2013, posting a false report of explosions at the White House that caused a temporary $136 billion drop in the Dow. Agha was charged in 2014, indicted in May 2018, and later taken into U.S. custody; co-defendant Firas Dardar remains a fugitive.
Unconfirmed: Earlier case documents did not say Syrian officials led the group, and an OpenNet Initiative study found no credible direct government link.
- The FBI added Agha and Firas Dardar to its Cyber’s Most Wanted list in March 2016 with a $100,000 reward.
- About 3,500 potential visitors to a Marine Corps recruiting site saw a redirected image.
- One content company lost about $35,000 a day for about six months, the department said.
- A global non-profit lost $480,000 and retrained more than 800 staff.
- Peter Romar, charged with Dardar in a separate case, pleaded guilty in 2016.
Impact: Stolen credentials used to deface sites and hijack accounts
- Threat actors
- Syrian Electronic Army
- Victims
- Associated Press
- Organizations
- U.S. Justice DepartmentFBI
- Countries
- SyriaUnited States
From the original article
3 min read at thehackernews.com
Ahmad Umar Agha, a Syrian Electronic Army hacker known online as "Th3Pr0," has been sentenced by a U. S. federal court to 42 months in prison for his role in a hacking conspiracy that targeted Western news outlets.
thehackernews.com
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