The US authorities have charged 17 Iranian nationals for allegedly orchestrating a years-long coordinated campaign of cyber attacks that stole data from American organizations. This was reported by infohub.kz.
According to the US Department of Justice, members of the Iran-based Mabna Institute have targeted the computer systems of 144 American universities and 42 private companies since at least 2013. The group is alleged to have stolen approximately 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property worth around $3.4 billion during this "massive" campaign.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. described the coordinated cyber attacks as "a serious threat to our national security." The Department of Justice stated that many of the attacks were conducted on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as for "other Iranian government and university clients."
"Backed by the IRGC, this operation reflects a broader, organized effort to target US institutions and global partners," Barnacle said.
The DoJ reported that Mabna targeted the accounts of 100,000 academics worldwide and successfully compromised 8,000 professor email accounts at 144 US universities, as well as accounts at another 178 academic institutions internationally.
The campaign started around 2013 and continued until at least December 2017. The department also announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the location of five of the charged hackers.
US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald said cyber operations have "become a central instrument of national power," warning of the dangerous impact cyber attacks have on US security and the economy.
In addition to academic institutions, Mabna allegedly targeted and compromised employee email accounts from at least five US federal and state government agencies. At least 42 US-based private companies and 11 foreign companies based in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, and the UK were also targeted.
According to the DoJ, the Mabna Institute was founded in 2013 to assist Iranian academic organizations in "stealing access to non-Iranian scientific resources." Nine of the 17 members charged on Tuesday were previously charged in a seven-count indictment in March 2018.