DOJ unseals new charges against 17 in Iran-linked hacking campaign
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The U.S. Justice Department unsealed new and updated charges Tuesday against 17 individuals linked to Iran's Mabna Institute for hacking U.S. universities, companies and government agencies. The State Department announced a $10 million reward for information leading to their locations. The expanded indictment adds eight defendants to the nine charged in 2018.
Key Facts
- The Mabna Institute hacking campaign targeted more than 100,000 professor accounts worldwide from at least 2013 through 2017, successfully penetrating roughly 8,000 email accounts across 144 U.S.-based universities and 178 universities in other countries.
- The State Department's Rewards for Justice program announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the location of several of the charged individuals.
- The superseding indictment adds eight defendants to the nine charged in March 2018, bringing the total to 17 individuals.
- The Mabna Institute carried out hacking campaigns on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian government and university clients, targeting hundreds of U.S. and international universities, dozens of U.S. companies, and at least five U.S. state and federal government agencies.
The Indictment
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed the new and updated charges on Tuesday. The superseding indictment expands and replaces the original March 2018 indictment. The original indictment charged nine of the 17 defendants with hacking the U.S. Labor Department, the United Nations, and computer networks in Hawaii and Indiana. The new charges add eight defendants, bringing the total to 17 individuals linked to the Tehran-based Mabna Institute. The Mabna Institute carried out hacking campaigns on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian government and university clients.
Breach Scale
The campaign targeted more than 100,000 professor accounts worldwide from at least 2013 through 2017. Hackers successfully penetrated roughly 8,000 professor email accounts across 144 U.S.-based universities and 178 universities in other countries. The alleged intrusions hit hundreds of U.S. and international universities, dozens of U.S. companies, and at least five U.S. state and federal government agencies. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the charges reveal "the broader network allegedly behind a sweeping, state-sponsored campaign to steal research and intellectual property from American universities, businesses, and government institutions."
Reward and Response
The State Department's Rewards for Justice program announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the location of several of the charged individuals. The Iranian government's representatives at the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Contact information for the Mabna Institute was not immediately available. McDonald said more than eight years after the original indictment, the charges show "the passage of time will not deter us from identifying and pursuing those who target the United States from abroad."
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DOJ unseals new charges against 17 in Iran-linked hacking campaign
