Syrian Electronic Army successfully compromises Content Network Outbrain
Gone Phishing with the SEA: How the Syrian Electronic Army Hacked Outbrain and Disrupted Major News Outlets
In a digital twist of events, the notorious pro-Assad hacker group, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), pulled off an audacious hack on content recommendation service Outbrain. This move affected visitors to the websites of The Washington Post, CNN, and Time.
Outbrain, known for providing paid-for links at the bottom of online content under the banner "Stories from around the web," was compromised by the SEA. The hack allowed the group to redirect users to their own site for a brief half-hour on August 14.
The SEA, infamous for employing targeted phishing attacks, employed the same strategy this time around. An email impersonating Outbrain's CEO was sent to all employees, leading to a page requesting their credentials. With these details, the hackers managed to infiltrate Outbrain's email systems and access internal systems.
Once Outbrain discovered the breach, they temporarily disables the service before bringing it back online. Simultaneously, a staff writer at The Washington Post had their Twitter account compromised, resulting in a pro-SEA message being Tweeted.
The SEA first surfaced in April 2011, during the early days of the ongoing uprising against the Syrian government. The group takes aim at organizations it accuses of distributing fabricated news about the Syrian civil war.
This isn't the first time the SEA has targeted major media outlets like CNN, the BBC, The Guardian, and even satirical news site The Onion. Interestingly, in May, The Onion's technology team revealed how the SEA had accessed its official Twitter account by sending phishing emails to employees.
In a report on the attack, The Washington Post pointed out the SEA's indiscriminate approach to attacks. The group targets "both dissidents within Syria and 'sympathizers' outside of the country." According to the report, the "sympathizer" label is applied impressively loosely, stretching to anyone discussing the Syrian conflict without explicitly endorsing the Assad regime.
In light of this cyberattack, news organizations must scrutinize their reliance on third-party services like Outbrain for cybersecurity, safeguarding user trust, and maintaining editorial control.
Cybersecurity concerns within the technology sector have been highlighted once again, as the pro-Assad hacker group, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), used phishing attacks to compromise content recommendation service Outbrain, affecting visitors to major news outlets such as CNN, The Washington Post, and Time. This incident underscores the importance of general-news organizations scrutinizing their use of third-party services for cybersecurity purposes, as cybercrime and justice continue to be significant issues in the digital age.
