Harvard University has had its website hacked by the semi official Syrian Electronic Army.

Along with a picture of Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, the hacked home page showed a message saying the "Syrian Electronic Army Were Here". Another message made terror threats against the United States and criticised its opposition to the Assad regime.

A spokesman said that the university's homepage was compromised by an outside party this morning. It was down for several hours in order to restore it. The attack appears to have been the work of a sophisticated individual or group.

The website was hacked on Monday morning by what appeared to be sympathisers of President Assad of Syria, with a picture of the president in military uniform appearing in front of a Syrian flag. This was linked to another image of Syrian national colours, with a message accusing the United States of involvement in the uprisings against President Assad.

The Syrian Electronic Army is seen as at least partly government backed. It has been seen trying to coax pro-revolution Syrian Facebook users into giving up their login info with a phony URL and login page. It has attacked sites in the UK before now and so far all its targets have been governmental.