DOJ Charges 17 Iranians in US Hacking Campaign

The Justice Department on Tuesday charged 17 Iranian nationals over a years-long hacking campaign that prosecutors say stole data from five federal and state government agencies and scores of US universities and companies.

Eight of the defendants are newly charged in a 14-count superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday; nine were first charged in 2018.

The case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Prosecutors say the defendants worked for the Iran-based Mabna Institute, which they allege was founded in Tehran to steal scientific resources for Iranian universities and government bodies, contracting hackers-for-hire on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

What Prosecutors Allege

According to the indictment, the hackers targeted 144 US universities and 178 foreign universities and successfully compromised roughly 8,000 professor email accounts.

In all, prosecutors say 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property were stolen. US universities spent $3.4 billion to recover or replace it.

Other victims named include the Department of Labor, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the United Nations, 11 technology firms and two defense contractors.

Private-sector companies lost tens of millions of dollars, prosecutors say, and stolen academic material was resold to Iranian buyers seeking access to US university libraries.

The charges include computer fraud, wire fraud and identity theft.