US charges nine Iranians in major hacking plot

The defendants are accused of working at the behest of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and stealing expensive research from about 320 universities and the Department of Labor and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The hackers are reportedly affiliated with the Mabna Institute, an Iranian company the Justice Department says the Iran government contracted since at least 2013 to steal scientific research. 

"By bringing these criminal charges, we reinforce the norm that most of the civilized world accepts: nation-states should not steal intellectual property for the purpose of giving domestic industries an advantage," said Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general. 

The Treasury Department also sanctioned 10 Iranians - the nine defendants and one charged in a separate case from last year - as well as the Mabna Institute. 

Iran has no extradition treaty with the US, which makes the prospect of prosecution unlikely. But the indictment is part of the US government's efforts to "name and shame" foreign hackers and bar them from travelling freely. 

"People travel. They take vacations, they make plans with their families," said David Bowdich, deputy FBI director. "Having your name, face and description on a 'wanted' poster makes moving freely much more difficult."

The hackers reportedly broke into university networks using a simple phishing scam. They were able to steal 15 billion pages of academic research that was then sold outside the US for profit.

"Just in case you're wondering, they're not admiring our work," Bowdich said. "They're stealing it, and they're taking credit for it, and they're selling it to others."

In 2017, a report said dozens of British MPs including Prime Minister Theresa May had their email accounts compromised as a result of Iranian hacking.

Last month, Iran's state media accused American and British hackers of accessing 30 news websites and uploading false stories that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack targeting Iranian newspapers.

Friday's charges marks the fourth time in recent months that the Trump administration has blamed a foreign government for hacking.

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