The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday unsealed a 14-count indictment charging 17 Iranians connected to the Mabna Institute, a private company based in Iran, for conducting cyberattacks against the US. The DOJ’s press release stated that many of these attacks were done on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The hackers have been involved in several attacks over the years. The DOJ revealed that they:
conducted a coordinated campaign of cyber intrusions into computer systems for 144 U.S.-based universities, 178 foreign universities, at least 42 U.S.-based private sector companies, at least 11 foreign private sector companies, at least five U.S. federal and state government agencies, and at least two non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Mabna Institute stole more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from these universities, as well as the email accounts of employees at the private sector companies, government agencies, and NGOs.
Protection of the intellectual property of US companies, universities, and government organizations is imperative to the country’s structure and future innovation, the press release said. All 14 charges do not apply to each of the 17 defendants, but each charge ranges from a maximum of five to 20 years in prison. US attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald stated that “these charges make clear that the passage of time will not deter us from identifying and pursuing those who target the United States from abroad.”
The IRGC is a branch of Iran’s military that operates separately from the regular army and reports directly to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The force includes a cyber command that works with affiliated businesses on military and commercial espionage and propaganda distribution.
According to the DOJ, the Mabna Institute was founded in 2013 to assist Iranian organizations in gaining access to non-Iranian academic networks, scientific data, scholarly journals, and books. In 2018, nine of the 17 defendants were charged in a seven-count indictment.
The US government is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information regarding the whereabouts of Saber Shahbaziz Ballojeh, Keyvan Fayaz, Mojtaba Galekuhi, Arman Kahzadian and Behzad Mesri.
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