Hackers spread fake news of Assad assassination attempt

Hackers have taken over the website of the Syrian regime's Ministry of Information and published news that President Bashar al-Assad had been poisoned and was suffering from life-threatening symptoms.

The pro-rebel hackers gained unauthorised access to the ministry's site late on Monday and published false news of an alleged poisoning attempt, prompting authorities to scramble to deny the report in state media.

"There has been an attempt to poison President Bashar al-Assad and there are reports that he has been infected with a dangerous contagious disease," the hackers' post read.

"As far as we know the president was infected after eating poisoned food. Authorities are still looking for who is behind this heinous act."

It added that doctors were at the president's side, trying to save his life and asked readers to pray to God for him to overcome the attempt at his life.

The false report quickly spread across social media platforms with some rejoicing and many others expressing doubts about the validity of the news.

On Monday, Syrian state news said that the site had been hacked and that "false news about Syrian state and its leadership" had been published.

A source in the ministry of information said: "The cyber attack is part of an online propaganda war against Syria and spread blatantly distorted news."

The regime's so-called Syrian Electronic Army [SEA] has been known for hitting news outlets that the group claims slant their reporting of the Syria conflict.

The SEA has gained notoriety for hacking into news media outlets and making bogus social media posts.

Their most notorious hack was of The Associated Press' Twitter account, resulting in a false 2013 tweet saying President Barack Obama had been injured after two blasts at the White House.

Similarly, Russia has allegedly been engaged in a major cyber espionage campaign targeting Syrian opposition groups, charities, human rights organisations and media outlets opposed to Assad's regime.