The front pages have been dominated for more than a year by photos of young Syrian rebel fighters, armed and proud, battling an increasingly isolated Syrian military.

But amid the shooting, the atrocities and the bombings, there is a parallel war — a sophisticated cyber insurgency battling a shadowy team working on behalf of the Assad regime. The Syrians’ online conflict may be the most active cyberwar in recent memory, with extraordinary efforts by both sides to sabotage, disrupt and destroy. It may even foreshadow the way cyber battles will play out in future conflicts.

On the one side, the Syrian government has been using cyber tools to track activists and expose opposition figures. An online group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army appears to be acting as the Assad regime’s surrogates.