USA accuses: Iranian hackers breached universities and government agencies
According to the indictment, since 2013, the hackers have infiltrated 144 US universities, dozens of companies and government agencies, and stolen more than 31 terabytes of academic information and intellectual property.
Federal prosecutors in New York filed indictments on Tuesday against 17 Iranian citizens suspected of conducting a "coordinated cyber intrusion campaign" against universities, companies, and government authorities in the United States. According to the indictment, the hackers, operating from Iran, have infiltrated 144 US universities, 42 private sector companies, five federal and state agencies, and at least two non-governmental organizations since 2013.
Federal prosecutors claim that the suspects stole more than 31 terabytes of academic information and intellectual property, as well as employee email accounts. It is further alleged that a significant portion of the intrusions were carried out on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Nine of the 17 defendants have previously been charged with similar activity.
Jamie McDonald, the federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, said that the new charges reveal a wider network that was behind a state-sponsored campaign designed to steal research and intellectual property from American universities, businesses, and government institutions. He stated:
"Neither sophistication nor geographic borders will deter us from protecting our nation's national security from those who target the United States from abroad."
The charges come about three weeks after the US federal government warned of potential cyber threats to water systems in the US. This follows reports that water facilities in Minnesota were hit by cyberattacks, which some US officials believe may be linked to Iran.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) stated that cyber actors threatened programmable logic controllers and changed passwords in an attempt to "lock operators out of the systems." According to the agency, the activity led to messages instructing people to boil water and forced the operation of systems manually for an extended period.
The current case joins a cyber campaign that was exposed in 2018. At that time, prosecutors accused nine Iranian hackers of infiltrating the computer systems of hundreds of universities and institutions in the US and around the world for four years, with the goal of stealing research for the Iranian government. According to the charges, the hackers worked for a Tehran-based company called "Mabna" and carried out intrusions as part of a targeted phishing campaign against professors. The damage caused to universities was estimated at approximately 3.4 billion dollars.
