Iranian Hacking Crew Charged In Sprawling Theft Case — Including $6M Bitcoin Ransom

Feds have hit 17 Iranians with criminal charges for allegedly conducting a years-long campaign of cyber attacks — including trying to extort HBO for $6 million in bitcoin.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday that the 17 individuals were working with the Mabna Institute, which carried out hacking campaigns on ​behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian ​government and university clients.

Hundreds of U.S. and ⁠international universities, dozens of companies, and at least five ​state and federal government agencies were targeted in the campaign. 

Part of the indictment mentioned Behzad Mesri, who was previously charged with hacking entertainment giant Home Box Office — HBO — and stealing proprietary data. The crime then saw Mesri try and extort approximately $6 million worth of Bitcoin. 

Prosecutors added that five other defendants — Saeid Houshyar, Manouchehr Hashemloo, Keyvan Fayaz, Saber Shahbazi Ballojeh, and Arman Kahzadian — were directly involved in the hack. 

The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program is now offering up to $10 million for information on the location of the defendants. 

“Today’s charges, which include eight additional defendants, reveal the broader network allegedly behind a sweeping, state-sponsored campaign to steal research and intellectual property from American universities, businesses, and government institutions,” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.