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FBI Cyber Division Adds Syrian Electronic Army To Wanted List

Posted by samzenpus on from the checking-it-twice dept.

coolnumbr12 writes "The U.S. government has had enough of the Syrian Electronic Army's hacks of Western media and government outlets. A week after the SEA shut down the New York Times, the FBI Cyber Division unit has officially added the pro-Assad hacker collective to its wanted list. The FBI issued an advisory that included information about the SEA, its capabilities, and some of its more heinous attacks. The advisory also warns networks to be on the lookout for attacks, and that anyone found to be aiding the SEA will be seen as terrorists actively aiding attacks against the U.S. websites."

11 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. haha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hacking websites = terrorism now ?

    See the danger of such a slippery slope ? The government can't see it. They're dead serious. Hacking websites = terrorism. It boggles the mind.

    Frankly, what the U.S. government does on a daily basis is far more terrifying than anything some script kiddies hijacking DNS entries could do.

    Captcha: encroach

    1. Re:haha by Derec01 · · Score: 3, Informative

      The one page advisory does *not* use the word terrorism.

      The story mentions terrorism. The headline mentions terrorism.

      However, the actual one page FBI advisory does NOT use the word terrorism.

    2. Re:haha by Derec01 · · Score: 5, Informative

      No, you were right. Direct link below to the FBI advisory PDF. There is no mention of terrorism.

      http://info.publicintelligence.net/FBI-SEA.pdf

  2. He's not a terrorist by maroberts · · Score: 2

    He's a very naughty boy!

    I'm sure defacing websites may be some sort of crime, but terrorism? Terrorism seems to have suffered from mission creep. Defacing websites may be highly annoying, but probably ought to qualify as a semi-legitimate form of protest.

    --

    Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
    Karma: Chameleon

  3. Slippery slope by fox171171 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Hacking websites = terrorism now ?

    See the danger of such a slippery slope ? The government can't see it. They're dead serious. Hacking websites = terrorism. It boggles the mind.

    Frankly, what the U.S. government does on a daily basis is far more terrifying than anything some script kiddies hijacking DNS entries could do.

    Captcha: encroach

    This week it's hacking a website.

    Next week it's: "You broke a website's TOS! Terrorist! Off to Gitmo with you!"

    1. Re:Slippery slope by wbr1 · · Score: 2

      Hacking websites = terrorism now ?

      See the danger of such a slippery slope ? The government can't see it. They're dead serious. Hacking websites = terrorism. It boggles the mind.

      Frankly, what the U.S. government does on a daily basis is far more terrifying than anything some script kiddies hijacking DNS entries could do.

      Captcha: encroach

      This week it's hacking a website. Next week it's: "You broke a website's TOS! Terrorist! Off to Gitmo with you!"

      It is worse.. it is not just hacking the site, it is aiding the hackers in any way. "Oops, grocer you sold that terrorist a bagel, you are a terrorist. Sorry Mr, Consultant, you set up this asshats home network, you are a terrorist!"
      (Yes the jewish food/muslim terrorist dichotomy was intended).

      And before you guys step in and say it is about 'intent', intent matters not one whit when you are against the -letter- of the law (or how it is enforced), and some prosecutor/lea has an axe to grind (be it because of personal dislike of the target or for personal gain). The may even come up with some parallel construction to cover other up more 'evidence' they extracted about you (See, he called his sister in Dallas the same day the terrorist hacker was in Dallas! They must have been in cahoots!).

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
  4. "Terrorism" was an insert by the IB Times by Derec01 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I commented on this elsewhere, but I'll do it again because people are getting whipped up about it.

    The IB Times is entirely responsible for using the label terrorism. The FBI did not call it terrorism. Here's a direct link to the FBI advisory requesting information about website defacement. Consistent with the FBI's domestic focus.

    http://info.publicintelligence.net/FBI-SEA.pdf

    To be honest, that is incredibly bad journalism. No one is sourced for the word terrorism; it is an invention of this Ryan Neal fellow.

  5. Feel free to tell Mr. Neal the error of his ways by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 5, Informative

    from TFA

    The advisory also warns networks to be on the lookout for attacks, and that anyone found to be aiding the SEA will be seen as terrorists actively aiding attacks against the U.S. websites.

    i'm no friend of the SEA (or the sea) but if you read the actually advisory then you likely noticed that neither "terrorism" or "terrorist" is anywhere in the advisory.
    since he's written a flat out lie under the guise of fact, i think people should inform him of the error of his ways.

    his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ryanwneal
    his twitter feed: https://twitter.com/ryanWneal

    feel free to mod up +1 pwn4g3

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  6. Ya whatever, by Adult+film+producer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    the FBI should add itself to its wanted list.

  7. If we are jumping at every shadow by symbolset · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Then have not the terrorists won?

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.
  8. Why by umghhh · · Score: 2
    • anything US gov does now is said to be wrong/fascist/illegal/etc? That borders on stupidity to the point that one could have thought this could be a NSA attempt to disqualify /. as a valid forum to discuss issues. To me attacking sites like the one of new your times or banks etc is illegal activity. Sometimes it may be justified but that is rare.
    • summaries do not point to the source anymore? Usually one must click few times to get there only to find out that summary was inaccurate.
    • is /. following general media which rarely uses deep analysis and shows restraint which leads to hysterical and inaccurate reporting? It looks almost like the (more or less autistic) brains of /. see a small irregularity and out of it make a rule: "US spied on others so spying on US cannot be persecuted". What sort of HS is this?

    Quite frankly it makes less and less sense to take part in discussions as voice of reason all too often cannot be heard because of the noise of hysterical and mostly not thought trough posts? I admit I am not much better but maybe some constraint were in place. It does not really help if anything is announced as a slippery slope towards a fascists state etc. The summary is also not so good his time and could have been stopped because it is just incorrect (in using the word terrorist etc) and that makes a difference.