The Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), a political hacktivist group, said it hacked Paypal and eBay domains in the UK, France and Israel on 1 February.

The hackers said the attack was considered as a "hacktivist operation" and that account information was not targeted.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

They also said the operation wanted to highlight how both firms have no presence in Syria, and the impact that has had on its people.

According to reports, the websites were affected for around an hour, and the SEA said that it hoped PayPal and eBay users "learned a lesson".

The SEA Twitter account, @Official_SEA16, tweeted: "If your Paypal account is down for a few minutes, think about Syrians who were denied online payments for more than 3 years. #SEA"

A spokesperson from the jointly-owned companies said: "No customer data was accessed by these redirects, and no customer accounts were affected. We take the security and privacy of our customers very seriously and are actively investigating the reasons behind the temporary redirects."

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The SEA has become known for high-profile attacks, usually on western media companies. The hackings are performed through phishing, or fraudulent emails used to trick the company’s employees into providing sensitive login information.

At the time of writing, SEA’s official Twitter account had been suspended following the attack on eBay and PayPal.

Twitter user and SEA member @SEATh3Pr0 said: Twitter suspended our main account (@Official_SEA16). We are working to bring it back if it’s possible, for now follow @SEA_Official17 #SEA.