Syrian Electronic Army hacker Brought to US

We are about to see one of the most interesting cases brought against a member of the Syrian Electronic Army, a semi-mystical group of hackers claiming to represent the Assad regime.

The first indictment of some of these folks was in March and was described this way:  "According to allegations in the first complaint, beginning in or around 2011, Agha and Dardar engaged in a multi-year criminal conspiracy under the name “Syrian Electronic Army” in support of the Syrian Government and President Bashar al-Assad.

The conspiracy was dedicated to spear-phishing and compromising the computer systems of the U.S. government, as well as international organizations, media organizations and other private-sector entities that the SEA deemed as having been antagonistic toward the Syrian Government.  When the conspiracy’s spear-phishing efforts were successful, Agha and Dardar would allegedly use stolen usernames and passwords to deface websites, redirect domains to sites controlled or utilized by the conspiracy, steal email and hijack social media accounts.  For example, starting in 2011, the conspirators repeatedly targeted computer systems and employees of the Executive Office of the President (EOP).   Additionally, in April 2013, a member of the conspiracy compromised the Twitter account of a prominent media organization and released a tweet claiming that a bomb had exploded at the White House and injured the President.  In a later 2013 intrusion, through a third-party vendor, the conspirators gained control over a recruiting website for the U.S. Marine Corps and posted a defacement encouraging U.S. marines to “refuse [their] orders.”

This newest group, announced today is slightly different, but it is interesting that the individual was extradited from Germany.

" Peter Romar, 36, a Syrian national affiliated with the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), made his initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson of the Eastern District of Virginia on charges that he conspired to violate U.S. law, including by unauthorized access to, and damage of, computers and related extortionate activities; receiving the proceeds of extortion; money laundering; wire fraud; violations of the Syrian Sanctions Regulations; and unlawful interstate communications.

Romar, who was detained by German authorities on a provisional arrest warrant on behalf of the United States, was charged by criminal complaint unsealed on March 22, 2016.

According to allegations in the complaint, beginning in or around 2011, co-defendant Firas Dardar, 27, known online as “The Shadow,” and another member of the SEA’s “Special Operations Division” engaged in a multi-year criminal conspiracy to conduct computer intrusions against perceived detractors of President Bashar al-Assad, including media entities, the White House and foreign governments.  Beginning in or around 2013, SEA members Romar and Dardar also engaged in an extortion scheme that involved hacking online businesses in the United States and elsewhere for personal profit.  Specifically, the complaint alleges that the conspiracy would gain unauthorized access to the victims’ computers and then threaten to damage computers, delete data or sell stolen data unless the victims provided extortion payments to Dardar and/or Romar.  In at least one instance, Dardar attempted to use his affiliation with the SEA to instill fear into his victim.  If a victim could not make extortion payments to the conspiracy’s Syrian bank accounts due to the Syrian Sanctions Regulations or other international sanctions regulations, Romar would act as an intermediary in an attempt to evade those sanctions."