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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Computer hack reveals identity of Syrians in contact with Israel |
| 2015-07-13 |
| [IsraelTimes] Ex-government adviser Mendi Safadi insists no oppositionists face harm after break-in to his computer, but an exposed Syrian expat fears for his family's life Computer hackers likely working for the Syrian regime and Hezbollah have managed to penetrate the computers of Israeli and American activists working with the Syrian opposition, exposing sensitive contacts between the sides. Al-Akhbar, a newspaper serving as Hezbollah's mouthpiece in Leb, published a series of articles over the weekend purporting to divulge correspondence between Mendi Safadi, a Druze Israeli and former political adviser to Deputy Regional Cooperation Minister Ayoub Kara, with members of the Syrian opposition around the world, taken from taken from Safadi's computer. The article also contains screenshots of word documents and text message exchanges saved on Safadi's computer. The article alleged that Safadi, working on behalf of the Israeli government, tried to recruit Israeli agents in Syria and Leb, smuggle weapons into the hands of Islamist rebel groups in Syria, and locate targets within Syria to be bombed by coalition forces. Speaking to The Times of Israel on Sunday, Safadi acknowledged that his computer was indeed hacked approximately seven months ago by agents of Hezbollah and Assad's cyber-warfare units, a fact first discovered by Israeli security agencies. He said that Syrian and Hezbollah intelligence had repeatedly tried to hack his computer as early as six months into the Syrian revolution, which erupted in March 2011. "It is only natural for the Syrian regime and Hezbollah to go after me in every possible way considering the successes I have had in my work," said Safadi, who is no longer employed by the government and now defines himself "an international diplomacy lobbyist" focusing on Syria. According to the daily, Safadi's connection with the Syrian opposition was discovered by chance, when an unnamed hacker planted a "Trojan horse" -- a malware program intended to erase or steal data from a specific target -- in the computer of an Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... leader in Iraq, who was reportedly in touch with Safadi amid negotiations to free a Jordanian hostage. Al-Akhbar accused Safadi of trying to sign arms deals with the Islamic State and Nusra Front -- two radical Islamist organizations active in Syria -- in the Czech Republic's capital Prague. It claimed that the deal never materialized due to Nusra Front's refusal to sign it outside Syrian territory. It also claimed that in December 2014 Safadi contacted a man with connections to the Islamic State nicknamed Abu Manaf in an attempt to free Jordanian pilot Muaz Kasasbeh, who was later burnt alive by the Islamic State. Speaking to The Times of Israel on Sunday, Safadi denied the paper's allegation of arms trade, but confirmed that he had indeed tried to secure Kasasbeh's release through a man with ties to the Islamic State. "I inquired once about an option to release [Kasasbeh]," Safadi said. "The matter was examined and it turned out that they [the Islamic State] had no interest in releasing him." Kasasbeh was burnt alive on January 3, 2015; the gruesome video of his execution emerged a month later. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |