The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges Tuesday against 17 Iranians for their alleged roles in a multi-year cyber theft campaign targeting American universities, private companies, and government agencies. Federal officials stated the defendants were members of the Iran-based Mabna Institute and allegedly acted on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian government clients to steal intellectual property.
The Mabna Institute was founded in 2013 with the specific purpose of helping Iranian academic organizations gain unauthorized access to scientific resources outside of Iran, according to the Department of Justice. The department previously issued a seven-count indictment against nine of the 17 individuals in March 2018. The newly announced charges follow an investigation into activities the government states occurred between 2013 and at least December 2017.
According to the indictment, the group compromised approximately 8,000 email accounts belonging to professors at 144 U.S. universities and 178 international institutions. The Department of Justice estimated that the group stole 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property, which it valued at approximately $3.4 billion. FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. stated the operation reflected an organized effort to target U.S. institutions and global partners.
For the individuals involved, such as university professors and government employees, the immediate impact included the compromise of private email communications and the unauthorized acquisition of their professional research and data. The Department of Justice noted that the campaign also targeted 11 foreign companies in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, and the UK. These actions highlight how international cyber operations can result in the loss of intellectual property that may otherwise be used for commercial or scientific advancement within the affected organizations.
The prosecution sets a precedent for how the U.S. government attributes cyber operations to foreign state-sponsored entities like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. As part of the ongoing legal proceedings, the U.S. government has announced a $10 million reward for information that leads to the location of five of the charged individuals, who are described as hackers-for-hire. While the charges have been filed, the specific trial dates for the 17 defendants have not been reported, as many of the accused remain outside of U.S. custody.