U.S. Unseals Expanded Indictment Against 17 Alleged Mabna Institute Hackers
Summary
U.S. authorities unsealed an expanded indictment accusing 17 Mabna Institute affiliates of a state-sponsored campaign that allegedly compromised university, government and company accounts and stole research data.
Key points
- The indictment accuses 17 Iranians affiliated with the Mabna Institute of conducting cybertheft on behalf of the Iranian government.
- It alleges more than 100,000 professors’ email accounts were compromised, including 8,000 accounts at 144 U.S. universities.
- Authorities allege the campaign also targeted 178 universities outside the U.S., government agencies and companies.
- The indictment says the institute’s hackers stole at least 31.5 terabytes of academic materials using stolen credentials.
- The State Department is offering up to $10 million for information leading to the location of four defendants.
Article Details
- Event Type
- U.S. federal indictment alleging state-sponsored cybertheft by individuals affiliated with the Mabna Institute.
- Impact
- The indictment alleges that more than 100,000 professors’ email accounts were compromised, including 8,000 accounts at 144 U.S. universities and accounts at 178 foreign universities. It alleges theft of at least 31.5 terabytes of academic and research data, and compromises of accounts at five U.S. government agencies, 42 U.S. companies, and 11 foreign companies. The indictment’s press release states that U.S. universities spent more than approximately $3.4 billion to procure and access the data and intellectual property.
MITRE ATT&CK
People
Threat Actors
Ehsan MohammadiThe Justice Department says he co-founded the Mabna Institute, which allegedly sought to help Iranian universities and research organizations steal from foreign scientific efforts.Gholamreza RafatnejadThe Justice Department says he co-founded the Mabna Institute, which allegedly sought to help Iranian universities and research organizations steal from foreign scientific efforts.Mabna InstituteThe indictment alleges the institute was behind a cybertheft campaign and compromised professors’ email accounts to steal research and intellectual property.
Countries
IranUnlike in 2018, the United States is currently waging a war against Iran that recently saw a 60-day negotiation deadline pass with no progress.United States“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.”