hackers

Syrian Electronic Army Hits New York Times, Twitter With Annoying Hacks

As tensions escalate in Syria today, the New York Times’ website crashed for the second time in two weeks, with a spokesperson for the paper blaming a “malicious external attack.” Twitter, too, seemed to be experiencing technological difficulties around the same time late this afternoon, as images failed to load and the site went down for some users. Most evidence so far is pointing to the Syrian Electronic Army, a pro-Assad hacker group known for messing with media companies, whose stamp appeared amid the Domain Name System (DNS) info for both sites.

Computer-security researcher Matt Johansen noted the connection:

Twitter’s DNS registration bore the “SEA mark:

And, ironically, a Twitter account claiming to be connected to the group took responsibility for the disturbances:

The SEA last achieved media recognition — its goal is to become “known to all” — for messing with the Washington Post earlier this month. The Times is attempting to stand strong, while The Wall Street Journal is just being sassy:

Update, 5:45 p.m.: The Huffington Post (UK) has also been named as a target:

Syrian Electronic Army Hacks N.Y. Times, Twitter