The hacktivist pro-Assad group known as the “Syrian Electronic Army” (SEA) briefly hijacked the Twitter feeds of TIME magazine in response to a critical description of President Assad’s candidacy for its ‘Person of the year’ award.
The SEA has tweeted from TIME’s official account: "Syrian
Electronic Army was here via @Official_SEA16. Next time write a
better word about the Syrian president #SEA”.
That tweet was soon deleted.
The group referred to TIME’s list of people – politicians and
celebrities – selected as potential winners for “Person of the
Year,” the magazine’s annual award.
Syrian President Bashar Assad is one of the candidates, while the
magazine describes him as: “Syria’s ruler presided over a bloody
year, shrugging off international concerns over the use of
chemical weapons as the death toll of his country’s civil war
eclipsed 100,000.”
The voting closes on December, 4, with TIME's Person of the Year
to be announced on December 11.
The SEA also claimed interfering with the vote on the US
magazine’s webpage.
We closed @TIME vote temporarily while they edit the Syrian president description on the website #SEApic.twitter.com/qQfCcbR6K2
— SyrianElectronicArmy (@Official_SEA16) November 29, 2013
TIME is not the first target of the notorious hacktivist group.
The SEA, a group of hackers sympathetic to the government of
Syrian President Bashar Assad, also claimed responsibility for cyber-attacks on The New
York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post and Thomson
Reuters.
In April, they also compromised the main Twitter account for the
Associated Press. As a result of the online attack, the
Associated Press – one of the most trusted sources for
journalists – falsely reported that US President Obama had been injured in a
surprise attack on the White House, causing a brief panic online
and even causing the stock market to fall by over 150 points.
The SEA also defaced a US Marine Corps recruitment website on September 2, posting images of US soldiers holding messages of contempt regarding possible American involvement in Syria.
Following that attack, the Federal Bureau of Investigation added
the SEA to its list of wanted criminals.
“The Syrian Electronic army, a pro-regime hacker group that
emerged during Syrian anti-government protests in 2011, has been
compromising high-profile media outlets in an effort to spread
pro-regime propaganda,” the FBI advisory stated. “The
SEA’s primary capabilities include spearphishing, web
defacements, and hijacking social media accounts to spread
propaganda."