Harvard University website was hacked yesterday by a group called “Syrian Electronic Army.” Hackers placed an image of Syria’s president, Bashar el-Assad, along with a message accusing the United States of involvement in the uprisings against President Assad. “Syrian Electronic Army Were Here”, the words of the message.
Hackers replaced the home page of the university with an image of Syria’s president, Bashar el-Assad. “The morning attack appeared to be the work of a sophisticated individual or group” said John D. Longrake, a Harvard spokesman. After the attack Harvard took down its website for several hours to restore the site.
The Syrian Electronic Army says on its website that it is composed of young Syrians who voluntarily engage in online attacks against hostile websites and the enemies of Syria and that they are not affiliated with the Syrian government.
“Do you support the war on Syria? If you are you, as well as the following Syria’s population of 23 million people. This means 23 million mobile bomb. Imagine what we could do” a fragment of the message.
A senior researcher said that in past few months attacking on news media, government, and education website has raised significantly.
Longrake added, “We are analyzing this event and will use the findings to improve our security practices for an environment that is seeing escalating threats.”