Washington Accuses 17 Iranians of Carrying Out Cyber Piracy Campaign on Behalf of the Revolutionary Guard - Sarmad

The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment against 17 Iranians for carrying out a wide-ranging cyber-hacking campaign targeting American and foreign institutions on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The 14-count indictment charges members of Iran’s MAPNA Institute with launching a coordinated cyber-attack campaign against the computer systems of at least 144 U.S. universities, 178 foreign universities, 42 private U.S. companies, 11 foreign private companies, five U.S. federal and state government agencies, and two non-governmental organizations. The operation, which spanned several years, stole more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property, along with email accounts belonging to thousands of employees.

According to a statement from the Department of Justice, the institute, founded in 2013, carried out phishing campaigns against universities and companies under contracts with Iranian government and private entities, on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard. The organized operation revealed a broad state-sponsored cyber-espionage network aimed at stealing research and intellectual property from American academic and economic institutions.

A federal grand jury had previously indicted nine of the suspects in 2018, before the new indictment replaced the earlier one, a development reflecting the continuation and expansion of the investigation. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jimmy McDonough, stated that the new charges expose the broader network behind the campaign, emphasizing that the passage of time would not deter the United States from pursuing those who target it from abroad.

Potential penalties range from five years in prison for conspiracy to commit computer crimes to 20 years for electronic fraud and conspiracy to commit such fraud. The State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the location of five of the fugitive suspects, as part of Washington’s ongoing efforts to track down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.