US indicts 17 Iranians over global cyber campaign

Shafaq News- Washington

The United States has charged 17 Iranians over a cyber campaign that targeted hundreds of universities, companies and government agencies worldwide, the US Department of Justice reported on Tuesday.

The suspects hit 144 US universities, 178 universities abroad, 42 companies and government agencies, stealing more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property.

Some of the attacks were carried out on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian government entities and universities, the Department added.

US investigators have associated other recent cyber incidents with Iranian-backed groups. In July, US media revealed that about 30 water networks in Minnesota came under cyberattacks using techniques used by the Iran-linked Hanzala hacking group.

A separate case involved a March cyberattack that forced parts of the Los Angeles transportation system to shut down. Researchers at Israeli cybersecurity firm Gambit Security attributed the attack to Iranian hackers, claiming they stole at least 700 gigabytes of data, including emails, backup copies and other files from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.