Syrian Computer Society

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The Syrian Computer Society ({{langx|ar|الجمعية العلمية السورية للمعلوماتية|al-Jam‘iyya al-‘Ilmiyya as-Sūriyya lil-Ma‘lūmātiyya}}) is an organization in Syria. It was founded by Bassel al-Assad in 1989, and was subsequently headed by his brother Bashar al-Assad,{{cite journal|last=Alterman|first=Jon B.|title=New Media New Politics?|journal=The Washington Institute|year=1998|volume=48|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyPaper48.pdf|accessdate=7 April 2013|archive-date=13 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513133813/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyPaper48.pdf|url-status=dead}} who would later become the President of Syria. It acts as Syria's domain name registration authority and has been reported to be closely associated with the Syrian state.{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/05/network-solutions-seized-over-700-domains-registered-to-syrians/|title=Network Solutions seizes over 700 domains registered to Syrians|date=May 8, 2013|author=Sean Gallagher|publisher=Ars Technica|accessdate=2013-05-09}}

In May 2013, 700 domains registered by Syrians, mostly hosted at servers with IP addresses assigned to the Syrian Computer Society, were reported to have been seized by the U.S. DNS infrastructure operator Network Solutions. The domain names became registered to "OFAC Holding", believed to be a reference to the U.S. federal government's Office of Foreign Assets Control.{{cite web|url=http://krebsonsecurity.com/2013/05/trade-sanctions-cited-in-hundreds-of-syrian-domain-seizures/|title=Trade Sanctions Cited in Hundreds of Syrian Domain Seizures|publisher=Krebs on Security|date=8 May 2013|accessdate=2013-05-09}}

Some members of the Syrian Computer Society belonged to the first group of supporters of the Syrian Electronic Army.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/technology/financial-times-site-is-hacked.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1|title=Hunting for Syrian Hackers' Chain of Command|work=The New York Times|date=17 May 2013|accessdate=2016-10-18}}