Monday, September 2, 2013

Syrian Electronic Army Targeting Major Media Outlets

It seems as though a group of hackers known as the Syrian Electronic Army have been targeting major media outlets lately, accessing their servers and altering code for a variety of unspecified reasons. Over the past few months, the group known as SEA or the Syrian Electronic Army Soldiers claimed to have hacked into well known media outlets throughout the UK and US in addition to Columbia University and Human Rights Watch. On Wednesday, August 28, the group was able to infiltrate the powerful media outlet The New York Times homepage for roughly 20 hours and redirect visitors to a virtual coat of arms for the SEA as well as cause other issues. In another cyber assault, the SEA managed to take control of the domain name of Twitter . In a potent example of the effects of the new media outlets, the Syrian Electronic Army used Twitter to claim responsibility for both cyber assaults, while the hacks were first reported by Twitter users accompanied by screenshots of the domain registration changes.  The message was first delivered through Twitter on both accounts, and while the NY Times website was down they used their Twitter account to keep readers updated on the progress. 

It is important to note that while the traditional mainstream media did write reports on the attacks by the SEA, they were first notified and discussed via Twitter. To me this stands as a clear indication of how technology has changed many of our traditional news sources, and in many ways allows consumers to pick and choose what we are exposed to. Twitter is fast rising to the top of the list as a major player in the modern news market, with users following who they find entertaining, intelligent, or simply wrong. The SEA's decision to hack into major news servers shows how quickly politics such as the civil war raging in Syria can overlap into the various agencies who deliver our news, further blurring any lines separating politics from the media outlets that report the issues. 

The Syrian Electronic Army has been utilizing the new media in order to further its political agenda. Through the effective utilization of technology they have managed to alter media outlets messages (at least temporarily) and spread their specific cause and message worldwide through managing their Twitter account. Today, they were able to hack into the US Marine Corps website and display a message warning visitors of consequences to be faced if the US attacked Syria. While this attack did not target a media outlet, it will almost certainly be promulgated through outlets such as Twitter or Facebook. 

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1 comment:

  1. UnknownSeptember 7, 2013 at 11:52 PM

    Hi Toby,

    I just posted a similar article on this topic and then saw your post. This is quite a fascinating story, especially with the FBI development now. You are certainly right that Twitter is important (albeit only in countries with considerable internet access). The fact that the SEA actually posted a fake AP article on Twitter saying President Obama was injured as a result of an attack actually caused the stock market to fall 150 points and a temporary panic to ensue online. That certainly shows how quickly news on Twitter can have a far reaching impact. However, even though the SEA is engaging in cyber warfare with the US, I I think we should be equally worried about the Opposition and the messages being spread among themselves given how many extremists have probably infiltrated at this point (such as the Syrian Islamic Front). This is quite an interesting development and slightly ironic given that it is an attempt at silencing propaganda, while unintentionally allowing another to flourish. Great post!

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