Syrian hacker sentenced to 42 months in federal prison

Ahmad Umar Agha was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for his role in a hacking conspiracy that prosecutors said targeted about 47 media outlets, businesses, nonprofit organizations and U.S. and allied government bodies. The Justice Department said the conspiracy ran from 2011 to January 2024 and was organized and led by members of former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s inner circle, including the commander of Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate. The department said the operation sought to punish news organizations for reporting on the Syrian government, intimidate its opponents, gather intelligence and encourage U.S. military personnel to disobey orders. Those claims about the group’s leadership and objectives were presented by the department; the supplied accounts do not independently establish them. Prosecutors said Agha hijacked the Associated Press’s Twitter account on April 23, 2013, and posted a false claim that President Barack Obama had been injured in explosions at the White House. The post temporarily erased an estimated $136 billion in stock value, according to the Justice Department. Agha later told Business Insider that causing a sharp market drop was...