Federal authorities on Tuesday unsealed an indictment against 17 Iranians affiliated with the tech firm Mabna Institute, alleging a campaign of vast cybertheft on behalf of the Iranian government against universities, governments and companies.
It’s a second wave of indictments against the Tehran-based firm, expanding on and replacing a 2018 indictment of nine of the defendants from then and adding others.
“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,” said Jamie McDonald, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. “More than eight years after making the original indictment public, these charges make clear that the passage of time will not deter us from identifying and pursuing those who target the United States from abroad.”
Unlike in 2018, the United States is currently waging a war against Iran that recently saw a 60-day negotiation deadline pass with no progress.
“Cyber operations have become a central instrument of national power, and attacks on American and allied institutions carry direct consequences for our security and economic strength,” McDonald continued.
According to the Justice Department, Gholamreza Rafatnejad and Ehsan Mohammadi founded the Mabna Institute around 2013 with the goal of helping Iranian universities and scientific and research organizations to steal from foreign scientific efforts. In doing so, it paid hackers-for-hire listed in the indictment.