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Syrian Electronic Army hacker Agha sentenced to 42 months

4 sources · 4 articlesFirst reported Updated ()
What's new

October 30: Reports add Agha’s age, intelligence-directorate organizers, custody last year without arrest details, a 2014 affidavit link, Assad’s December 2024 fall, and conflicting White House and Marine-message accounts.

Merged summary · x-ai/grok-4.7 · rewritten as coverage arrivesSummaries by Vani AI

Ahmad Umar Agha was sentenced to 42 months for phishing about 47 Western targets, including a 2013 fake AP tweet.

A federal court in Virginia sentenced Syrian Electronic Army hacker Ahmad Umar Agha, 42, to 42 months. The Justice Department said advisers in Bashar al-Assad’s circle organized phishing against about 47 Western media outlets, businesses, NGOs, and government entities and collected intelligence for the government. On April 23, 2013, a hijacked Associated Press Twitter account falsely reported White House explosions injuring President Obama, briefly cutting about $136 billion from the Dow. Co-defendant Firas Dardar remains a fugitive. Help Net Security says Agha stole White House credentials but failed to seize social accounts; CyberScoop says he once took one. The Record says a Marine recruiting redirect urged joining the Syrian Army; CyberScoop says it urged refusing orders.

Key facts
  • Conspiracy ran from August 24, 2011, to January 31, 2024, prosecutors said.
  • Charged in 2014, indicted in May 2018, and taken into U.S. custody last year.
  • FBI named Agha and Dardar most wanted in March 2016, offering $100,000.
  • About 3,500 Marine Corps recruiting visitors saw a redirected message.
  • One company lost about $35,000 a day for roughly six months.
  • A global NGO reported $480,000 in losses and retrained over 800 staff.
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Timeline

dated events in the reporting · oldest first
  1. Aug 24, 2011Hacking conspiracy against Western targets began · CyberScoop
  2. Apr 23, 2013Fake AP tweet briefly cut about $136 billion from the Dow · The Hacker News
  3. Oct 29, 2026Court sentenced Agha to 42 months · The Record

What each outlet adds

beyond the shared facts
  • The Hacker NewsMarch 2016 most-wanted listing and $100,000 reward.
  • Help Net SecuritySays he failed to seize White House social accounts; charged June 2014.
  • The Record2014 affidavit link, custody last year, and join-the-army wording.
  • CyberScoopAge 42, GID commander, exact dates, and Assad’s December 2024 fall.
Threat actors
Syrian Electronic Army
Victims
Associated PressUS Marine Corps
Organizations
U.S. Justice DepartmentFBIUS Department of JusticeJustice DepartmentU.S. Marine Corps
Countries
SyriaUnited States

Coverage

oldest first · one row per article · UTC
  1. · 13h ago The Hacker NewsFirst report

    Syrian Electronic Army hacker sentenced to 42 months in U.S. prison

    Ahmad Umar Agha, known as Th3Pr0, was sentenced for phishing-based hacks of about 47 Western targets, including a fake AP tweet.

  2. · 11h ago Help Net Security

    Syrian regime hacker sentenced to 42 months in US prison

    Ahmad Umar Agha, also known as Th3Pr0, was sentenced after a conspiracy that ran from August 2011 until January 2024.

  3. · 10h ago The Record

    Syrian Electronic Army hacker sentenced to 42 months

    Ahmad Umar Agha, known as Th3Pr0, was jailed Thursday; co-defendant Firas Dardar remains a fugitive.

  4. · 9h ago CyberScoop

    Syrian hacker Ahmad Umar Agha sentenced to 42 months in US

    Prosecutors say he hit about 47 targets from 2011 to 2024, including a 2013 fake AP tweet that briefly erased $136 billion.