Skip to main content

U.S. Charges Iranians For Global Cyber Attacks

The attack pilfered more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property.
                  U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein speaks at a news conference with other law enforcement officials at the Justice D
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday charged nine Iranians and an Iranian company with attempting to hack into hundreds of U.S. and international universities, dozens of companies and parts of the U.S. government on behalf of the Tehran government.
The cyber attack pilfered more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from 144 U.S. universities and 176 universities in 21 foreign countries, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
The U.S. Treasury Department said on its website that it was placing sanctions on those accused and the Mabna Institute, a company described by U.S. prosecutors as designed to help Iranian research organizations steal information.
“These defendants are now fugitives of justice,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said at a press conference, warning that they may face extradition in more than 100 countries if they travel outside of Iran.
The action is the fourth time in the past few months that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed a foreign government for major cyber attacks, a practice that was relatively rare under the Obama administration.
The campaign targeted the email accounts of more than 100,000 professors worldwide and compromised about 8,000 of them, the Justice Department said, describing the conspiracy as one of the largest state-sponsored hacking sprees prosecuted.
Hackers also targeted the U.S. Labor Department, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the United Nations, prosecutors said.
Last week, the administration accused the Russian government of cyber attacks stretching back at least two years that targeted the U.S. power grid. Washington imposed new sanctions on 19 Russians and five groups, including Moscow’s intelligence services, for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and other cyber attacks.
The Obama administration in 2016 indicted seven Iranians for distributed-denial-of-service attacks on dozens of U.S. banks and for trying to shut down a New York dam. Those hackers were also accused of working on behalf of Iran’s government.
On Friday, the Treasury department named the Iran-based Mabna Institute and Behzad Mesri, also known as “Skote Vahshat,” who was charged in 2017 with hacking cable TV network HBO.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kenyan student stabbed by her ex-boyfriend after she ended their relationship

                        Naomi Chepkemboi, a Third Year Public Health student at Pwani University, Kenya, was stabbed in the chest and neck by her ex-boyfriend Henry Kipkoech, who is a student at Kenyatta University, Nairobi. Ms Chepkemboi says she left her boyfriend in December last year because he was “irresponsible”. The two have a 4-month old daughter together. Speaking from her hospital bed in Kilifi County, Naomi Chepkemboi said Mr Kipkoech showed up at her rented room in Kilifi early Sunday, when he meted out the ugly attack on her. “He came to my room at 6am, and knocked on my door. I peeped through the window, and saw him. I went back to bed because I did not want to open the door for him. He pleaded with me to open the door, saying he came with an aim of restoring peace between us,” Chepkemboi told Citizen Television on Monday. “After much deliberation, I let him in. When we were done talking to each other, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Scotland yard commander in charge of drug strategy is suspended over alleged drug misuse

                                           A Scotland Yard commander who led the force’s drug strategy and heads misconduct hearings has been suspended over allegations of drug misuse.   Commander Julian Bennett was secretly suspended last month following claims involving controlled drugs. It was reported that he was taken off duty after refusing to have a drug test following a tip-off about alleged substance abuse.    The veteran officer now faces an internal investigation by Scotland Yard’s directorate of professional standards, despite reports that part of his role in the force is acting as chairman in misconduct proceedings.   Nicknamed ‘Sacker,’ Mr. Bennett is well known for his stern rulings due to the number of officers kicked out of the force, having presided over hundreds of hearings since 2010, including some of the force’s most controversial invest...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dapchi girls: Abductors want to surrender ―Aisha Wakil

                      MEMBERS of the Boko Haram sect that have sent thousands to their untimely graves are ready to surrender, founder of the Complete Care Aid Foundation, Aisha Wakil, has said. Popularly called Mama Boko Haram, Aisha, however, said their apprehension was how they would be reintegrated into society. Her assertion came as parents of the 110 abducted girls of Government Technical College, Dapchi in Yobe State are losing their cool by the day as their children spent 13 days in captivity. In an apparent loss of confidence in the authorities, they have resolved to take their destinies in their own hands by forming the Dapchi Abducted Girls Parents Association. Wakil, who is a major negotiator for the sect, told Sunday Tribune that she could vouch for their readiness to drop their arms and embrace peace. “I was shocked, like every other Nigerian, as same history has repeated itself like Chibok girls. I enqui...
Post a Comment
Read more