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Syrian Electronic Army hacker sentenced for 2013 fake AP tweet
The US Justice Department announced a 42-month sentence for Ahmad Umar Agha (“Th3Pr0”), who DOJ says hijacked the Associated Press Twitter account on 23...
- Disclosed
What happened
- The US Justice Department announced a 42-month sentence for Ahmad Umar Agha (“Th3Pr0”), who DOJ says hijacked the Associated Press Twitter account on 23 Apr 2013 and posted a false report of White House explosions, briefly wiping about $136B off US stock value.
- Technique: phishing of news-organization accounts; THN notes a Twitter password-reset confirmation went to a Gmail account mainly used by Agha.
- Attribution: DOJ. THN notes earlier filings did not show Syrian officials directing the group.
- Response: charged 2014, indicted 2018; in US custody by late 2025. Co-defendant Firas Dardar remains a fugitive.
Sources
- https://thehackernews.com/2026/10/syrian-hacker-behind-fake-tweet-that.html
- https://www.securityweek.com/syrian-hacker-gets-prison-time-in-us-after-over-a-decade-on-the-run/
- https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/syrian-man-sentenced-wide-ranging-hacking-conspiracy-conducted-behalf-bashar-al-assad-regime
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