US charges 17 Iranian hackers over years-long IP theft campaign
The US offers rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to five arrests.
US Deparment of Justice. By Bloomberg/Getty Images
- The DOJ charged 17 Mabna Institute members over a years-long hacking campaign.
- Prosecutors allege the group stole 31.5TB of academic data and intellectual property.
- The indictment says hackers also took about 8,000 email accounts from organizations in many countries.
- Prosecutors say the intrusions supported Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
The US Department of Justice has filed charges against 17 members of the Iran-based Mabna Institute for hacking hundreds of organizations.
According to a 14-count superseding indictment, the Mabna Institute was founded in 2013 to help Iranian universities and research organizations steal non-Iranian scientific data. The campaign continued through at least December 2017.
The US Department of Justice alleges that hundreds of universities, private companies, government agencies, and NGOs, both in the US and abroad, have been targeted over the past 8 years by members of the Mabna Institute.
Supposedly, the Iranian hackers stole roughly 31.5TB of academic data and intellectual property, as well as approximately 8,000 email accounts of employees at private sector companies, government agencies, and NGOs in Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
Some members of the Mabna Institute were involved in a failed attempt to extort the media and entertainment company HBO for approximately $6 million worth of bitcoin.
These intrusions were conducted on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
In addition to stealing academic data and login credentials for the benefit of the Iranian government, the defendants sold the stolen data through 2 websites controlled by one of the 17 hackers indicted.
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“Cyber operations have become a central instrument of national power, and attacks on American and allied institutions carry direct consequences for our security and economic strength. This office and our partners will continue to protect American innovation and pursue accountability for the individuals behind these attacks,” Jamie McDonald, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.
Through the US Department of Justice’s Rewards for Justice program (RFJ), the government is offering rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of Behzad Mesri, Mojtaba Ghal’eh-Kuhi, Arman Kahzadian, Keyvan Fayaz Ghareh Blagh, and Saber Shahbazi Ballojeh.
