U.S. charges Iranian hackers over HBO breach, academic data theft and $6 million Bitcoin extortion attempt
- The U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against 17 hackers allegedly tied to Iran's Mabna Institute.
- Prosecutors said the group was involved in a years-long cyber campaign that included the 2017 breach of HBO's website and an attempted $6 million Bitcoin extortion.
- The defendants were accused of conducting hacking operations for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian government clients.
- The campaign reportedly targeted hundreds of universities, businesses, and government institutions worldwide and stole at least 31.5 TB of academic data and intellectual property.
- The group was also said to have targeted more than 100,000 professor accounts worldwide and compromised about 8,000 accounts at 144 U.S. universities and 178 foreign universities.
- The U.S. State Department offered rewards of up to $10 million for information on the whereabouts of five of the defendants.
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 17 hackers it says were affiliated with Iran's Mabna Institute. Prosecutors linked the group to a long-running cyber campaign that included the 2017 intrusion into HBO's website and an attempt to extort about $6 million in Bitcoin.
According to the report, the group carried out hacking operations for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian government clients. Authorities said the campaign targeted hundreds of universities, businesses, and government institutions worldwide.
The defendants were accused of stealing at least 31.5 TB of academic data and intellectual property. They were also said to have targeted more than 100,000 professor accounts and compromised roughly 8,000 accounts across 144 U.S. universities and 178 foreign universities.
The U.S. State Department has offered rewards of up to $10 million for information on five of the defendants. For markets, the report is broadly neutral for equities and foreign exchange, while being mildly negative for crypto sentiment because it highlights Bitcoin-linked extortion and continued enforcement scrutiny around Iranian-related crypto activity.
美国起诉涉嫌入侵HBO网站、窃取学术数据并试图勒索600万美元比特币的伊朗黑客
美国司法部已起诉17名据称隶属于伊朗Mabna Institute的黑客。检方将该团伙与一场持续多年的网络行动联系起来，其中包括2017年入侵HBO网站，以及试图以约600万美元比特币进行勒索。
报道显示，该团伙被指为伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队及其他伊朗政府客户实施黑客行动。美国当局称，这些攻击的目标包括全球数百所大学、企业和政府机构。
被告还被指窃取了至少31.5TB的学术数据和知识产权。另据称，该团伙针对全球10万多个教授账户发起攻击，并攻破了美国144所大学和178所海外大学的大约8000个账户。
美国国务院已就其中5名被告的下落提供最高1000万美元悬赏。就市场影响而言，这则消息对股票和外汇整体偏中性，对加密货币情绪偏利空，因为它涉及比特币勒索以及围绕伊朗相关加密活动的执法压力。