A little more than a year ago, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) — a loosely-knit band of hackers — emerged, quickly gaining the support of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad who, in a speech, called the SEA a “virtual army in cyberspace.”  The “army” has continued its activities, hacking websites and spamming Facebook pages in an effort to win the information war.

But other methods have emerged from the pro-regime camp that make the SEA’s efforts look like child’s play.  For months, academic and rights groups have been documenting efforts by pro-regime hackers to distribute malware that installs surveillance tools on the recipient’s computer.  A recent example documented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation distributes malware via Skype; once a recipient’s machine is infected, their Skype account then sends a link out to contacts which, when clicked, installs the malware on their machines as well.

In an earlier incident, pro-government hackers set up a fake version of YouTube that attacked users in two different ways: first by requiring them to enter their YouTube login credentials, compromising their account; and second, by installing malware disguised as an Adobe Flash Player update.

This spate of attacks has left many Syrians seeking resources on how to stay safe online.  A number of organisations — the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Committee to Protect Journalists, to name just a couple — offer such information.

The regime continues to target journalists and citizen journalists (many of whom are staunchly in the opposition camp).  Just a few months ago, the offices of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression were raided, its staff arrested.  Only some have since been freed.  More devastating was the recent loss of a young determined activist and Fulbright scholar, Bassel Shehade, who had spent much of the previous year using his skills to train other activists on using cameras to document human rights abuses.

The cumulative effect of all these efforts against activists has not, fortunately, been silence.  Bloggers continue to blog, activists continue to upload YouTube videos and post to Twitter, and many do so using their real names. Humour — often a relief in the darkest times —has lent itself to campaigns, with powerful images dominating the Facebook groups of the Syrian revolution.

Nevertheless, the information war continues, with opposition factions, regime supporters, and even the regime itself vying for the role of truth bearer. Seeking truth through the chaos is difficult enough when framed through the lens of traditional media, but becomes far complex when contending with thousands of voices on social media, as well as sockpuppets and paid trolls.

Though it is important to remember that the Syrian conflict is primarily an offline one, and not lose sight of the limitations of the internet for political change, it is nonetheless clear that the internet plays an important role in allowing Syrians to communicate with the world.

Jillian C. York is Director for International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She tweets at @jilliancyork

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The undersigned organisations call on the Syrian authorities to immediately release Mazen Darwish, a prominent Syrian human rights defender and Director of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) – as well as seven of his colleagues and a visitor, who were arrested during a raid on their Damascus offices

In total 16 people were arrested on 16 February 2012 during the raid at SCM offices in Damascus, which  was carried out by officers from Air Force Intelligence (AFI) who were assisted by a group of plain-clothed armed men, according to a statement from the SCM. Seven people have been conditionally released and have to report to the detention centre every day for further interrogations.

SCM has played a key role in getting out information about daily developments in Syria as foreign journalists are virtually banned from the country. Mazen Darwish has previously been repeatedly subjected to interrogation by Syrian security services regarding his human rights related activities, including his work with SCM. The arrest of Mazen Darwish and his co-workers is apparently related to their peaceful activities as human right defenders, bloggers and journalists.

The raid on SCM offices and the detention of Mazen Darwish and his colleagues is a further attack by Syrian security services on Syrian human rights defenders and their rights to freedom of association and expression. This represents the latest attempt to silence those who have been witnessing, documenting and reporting on the ongoing gross human rights violations committed by the Syrian security forces in Syria. The Syrian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release these individuals.

Individuals following the case inside Syria reported that they believed the detainees are being held incommunicado at an AFI detention facility in El Mezze, Damascus. The use of torture and other ill treatment has been widespread and systematic in Syrian detention facilities, including in the facilities of the AFI.

It is the responsibility of the Syrian authorities to protect Mazen Darwish and his colleagues from any form of ill-treatment or torture and to ensure that, as long as they remain in detention, their rights of access to lawyers, family members and independent medical personnel are fully guaranteed.

Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation

Alkarama Foundation

Amnesty International

Arab Network for human rights information

Arab Working Group for Media Monitoring

ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression

Association For Women’s Rights in Development

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies

Committee to Protect Journalists

Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies

Doha Centre for Media Freedom

Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network

Free Press Unlimited

FRONT LINE DEFENDERS

Gulf Centre for Human Rights

Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation – Hivos

IKV Pax Christi

Index on Censorship

International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

International Commission of Jurists

International Media Support

International Press Institute

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

Iraqi Journalists’ Rights’ Defense association

Justice for Iran

Maharat Foundation

Observatory for the protection of Human Rights Defenders, joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Reporters Without Borders

Samir Kassir Foundation

Syrian Organization for Human Rights – Swasiah

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