Seventeen Iranians have been charged by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) for allegedly conducting a "coordinated campaign" of cyber attacks. The DoJ states that members of the Iran-based Mabna Institute targeted the computer systems of 144 American universities and 42 private sector firms since at least 2013.
The group is accused of stealing more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property, valued at approximately $3.4bn (£2.5m). FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C Barnacle, Jr described the attacks as "a serious threat to our national security."
Many of these alleged attacks were carried out on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as for "other Iranian government and university clients," according to the DoJ. The campaign, which started around 2013, continued until at least December 2017.
The DoJ also announced a $10m (£7.3m) reward for information leading to the location of five of the charged individuals. Mabna is also alleged to have targeted employee email accounts from at least five US federal and state government agencies, and 11 foreign companies, including some in the UK.