DOJ charges 17 alleged Iranian-backed hackers for stealing academic and corporate data

The U.S. Department of Justice unveiled new indictments against 17 individuals linked to the Mabna Institute, accusing them of a state-sponsored hacking campaign that targeted universities, companies and government agencies.

The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it has unsealed updated charges against 17 people alleged to have collaborated with the Iranian firm known as the Mabna Institute. Prosecutors say the institute carried out hacking operations for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other government and university clients, targeting a wide array of U.S. and international academic institutions, private companies and at least five U.S. state and federal agencies.

A prior indictment from March 2018 had already charged nine of the individuals for breaches involving the Labor Department, the United Nations and computer systems in Hawaii and Indiana. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald described the case as exposing a broader network behind a sweeping, state-backed effort to steal research and intellectual property. The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program announced a $10 million reward for tips that locate several of the charged hackers. DOJ records indicate that from 2013 through 2017 the group targeted more than 100,000 professor accounts worldwide, successfully infiltrating about 8,000 email accounts across 144 U.S. universities and 178 foreign schools.