Cyber Incident Victim: Syrian National Coalition
Date:
Mar 2014
Location:
Syria
Summary
The Syrian Electronic Army breached and defaced the official website of the Syrian National Coalition, an opposition group seeking to replace the Bashar al-Assad government, alongside affiliated websites including Masarat Syria and the Daraya City Council. The attackers, known for supporting the Syrian regime, rendered the targeted sites temporarily inaccessible through defacement and forced downtime. This incident aligned with the group's broader pattern of targeting entities opposing the current government, though no data theft or specific operational disruptions beyond the website compromises were detailed in the reported breach.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 3 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On March 17, 2014, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) conducted a cyberattack against the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, commonly known as the Syrian National Coalition. The group breached and defaced the coalition’s primary website (etilaf.org), replacing its content with pro-regime messaging. Simultaneously, the SEA targeted affiliated opposition entities, including the Masarat Syria platform (masaratsyria.com) and the City Council of Daraya’s website (darayacouncil.org). The Syrian National Coalition, formed in November 2012 in Doha, Qatar, represented opposition factions seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad’s government, making it a strategic target for the pro-Assad hacktivist group. All compromised websites were rendered inaccessible following the attack, with administrators taking them offline to contain the breach. A preserved copy of the defaced Syrian National Coalition homepage was archived on the cybersecurity monitoring site zone-h.org. The incident demonstrated the SEA’s continued focus on disrupting Syrian opposition groups through digital means amid the ongoing civil conflict.
The attack coincided with broader SEA operations against international targets, notably a claimed intrusion into US Central Command (CENTCOM) systems days earlier. While the SEA announced accessing Army Knowledge Online servers and threatened to expose classified data to counter perceived US cyber operations against Syria, CENTCOM officials denied any breach of classified systems, characterizing the compromised information as unclassified. The SEA publicly warned the Obama administration against initiating cyber operations against Syria, threatening disproportionate retaliation targeting US command infrastructure. Concurrently, the group hinted via Twitter at impending disclosures regarding Microsoft’s alleged billing arrangements with the FBI for email access, referencing prior antagonism toward Microsoft. These parallel activities underscored the SEA’s multi-front strategy: suppressing domestic opposition through website defacements while leveraging high-profile international claims to deter foreign intervention in Syria. The immediate operational impact of the Syrian National Coalition breach was limited to temporary website unavailability and reputational disruption, with no referenced data exfiltration or persistent network compromise disclosed in available reporting.