US court sentences Syrian hacker to 42 months for Assad-regime cyberattacks

A US federal court has sentenced Syrian hacker Ahmed Omar Agha to 42 months for a hacking campaign waged on behalf of the Assad regime.

• The Eastern District of Virginia court sentenced Agha, known online as "Th3Pr0," for breaching about 47 entities between August 2011 and January 2024.
• In April 2013, Agha posted a false tweet from a hacked news agency account claiming Obama was injured in White House explosions.
• The Justice Department said the false tweet briefly wiped $136 billion from the Dow Jones index.
• The Justice Department said figures close to Assad, including the intelligence chief, organized and led the campaign.