Peter Romar, 37, was arrested in Germany earlier this year.

Following extradition, Romar pleaded guilty to federal charges of participating in a scheme to hack into the US government, foreign governments, and multiple US media outlets.

What Romar pleaded guilty of was felony charges of conspiring to receive extortion proceeds and to illegally access computers in his role as a member of the infamous hacking group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA).

U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia said: "Cybercriminals cannot hide from justice. No matter where they are in the world, the United States will vigorously pursue those who commit crimes against U.S. citizens and hold them accountable for their actions."

It is believed that Romar had two accomplices - Ahmad Umar Agha (aka The Pro), 22 and Firas Dardar (aka The Shadow), 27 - who are believed to be in Syria.

The FBI has offered a $100,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of Agha and Dardar. The trio used spear phishing tactics to target the US government, foreign organizations, media outlets and other private-sector entities who were antagonistic to the Syrian government.

Agha and Dardar also hacked into computers for personal gain. They threatened to release data or compromise the computer if a ransom was not paid.

"If a victim could not make extortion payments to the conspiracy's Syrian bank accounts due to sanctions targeting Syria, Romar acted as an intermediary in Germany to evade those sanctions," the DoJ said.

Romar is facing up to 5 years for his part in the schemes.

Source: The Hacker News