Syrian man sentenced for hacking conspiracy on behalf of Assad regime

Ahmad Umar Agha was sentenced to 42 months in prison for hacking 47 Western media and government entities from 2011 to 2014.

A federal district court in the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced Ahmad Umar Agha to 42 months in prison for his central role in an expansive hacking conspiracy organized and led by members of former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s inner circle, including the commander of Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate, from as early as Aug. 24, 2011, to Jan. 31, 2014. Agha hacked approximately 47 Western media entities, businesses, non-governmental organizations, and U.S. and allied government entities. The hacking conspiracy penalized the free press for reporting on the former Syrian government’s atrocities during the Arab Spring and subsequent Syrian Civil War; used information warfare tactics to cause fear and confusion among Syrian government opponents; collected intelligence for the former Syrian government; and attempted to cause mutiny or refusal of duty by members of the military of the United States.