The cyberattacks would have been intended to stop airstrikes against civilians

President Obama considered launching cyberattacks against the Assad regime to disrupt the dictator’s command structure and prevent airstrikes against civilians in the early days of the Syrian conflict.

The option, which is still one of a range of tactics being kept under consideration by the White House, was ruled out, partly because of concerns that the US would face retaliatory strikes on its vital infrastructure.

Mr Obama’s security advisers conceded yesterday that the White House was constantly looking at all options on Syria and that a cyberattack was still one of the tools at its disposal. In theory, operating systems could be disrupted for Russian helicopters used in barrel bomb attacks.

Caitlin Hayden, the National Security Council (NSC) spokeswoman, said that the Syria problem would