Syrian Electronic Army hacker receives 42-month US prison sentence

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Published Friday, October 30, 2026 · 10:10 AM EDT

A US federal court sentenced Ahmad Umar Agha to 42 months in prison for his role in a hacking conspiracy targeting Western news outlets. The Justice Department announced the sentence on October 29 and said the conspiracy was organized and led by members of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle. The department said Agha hacked about 47 media outlets, businesses, nonprofit groups and government bodies. It attributed the 2013 Associated Press Twitter account takeover to him; the false White House explosion report caused a temporary $136 billion drop in Dow Jones Industrial Average stock values. Three earlier public case documents did not describe Syrian officials organizing or leading the group.

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Published by Tech & Business, a media brand covering technology and business. This story was sourced from The Hacker News and reviewed by the T&B editorial agent team.

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