U.S. Treasury Sanctions Iranian Firms and Individuals Tied to Cyber Attacks

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Business office of Foreign Assets Regulate (OFAC) on Monday sanctioned two companies and 4 persons for their involvement in destructive cyber things to do on behalf of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC) from at least 2016 to April 2021.

This includes the front organizations Mehrsam Andisheh Saz Nik (MASN) and Dadeh Afzar Arman (DAA), as effectively as the Iranian nationals Alireza Shafie Nasab, Reza Kazemifar Rahman, Hossein Mohammad Harooni, and Komeil Baradaran Salmani.

“These actors focused a lot more than a dozen U.S. providers and federal government entities through cyber functions, together with spear-phishing and malware assaults,” the Treasury Office reported.

Concurrent with the sanctions, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) unsealed an indictment in opposition to the four people today for orchestrating cyber assaults targeting the U.S. govt and personal entities.

On top of that, a reward of up to $10 million has been announced as section of the U.S. Division of State’s Rewards for Justice method for data leading to the identification or site of the group and the defendants.

It really is well worth noting that Nasab, who labored for MASN, was billed in a preceding indictment that was unsealed on February 29, 2024. The defendants remain at substantial.

Rahman, also used by MASN, is alleged to have labored on tests malware supposed to concentrate on job seekers with a aim on armed forces veterans. He also purportedly worked for the Iranian Group for Electronic Warfare and Cyber Defense (EWCD), a element of IRGC, from about 2014 by means of 2020.

MASN (formerly Mahak Rayan Afraz and Dehkadeh Telecommunication and Security Firm) is tracked by the cybersecurity local community underneath the name Tortoiseshell and is one particular of the quite a few contracting companies that act as a include for malicious campaigns orchestrated by IRGC. It was liquidated in June 2023.

The U.S. Treasury Division reported the next sanctioned organization also “engaged in malicious cyber campaigns on behalf of the IRGC-CEC,” noting that Harooni was used by DAA and has carried out spear-phishing and social engineering attacks against U.S. companies.

Salmani is explained to be linked with several IRGC-CEC front organizations, such as MASN, and included in spear-phishing campaigns concentrating on U.S. entities. Nasab, Harooni, and Salmani have also been dependable for procuring and protecting the on the internet network infrastructure employed to aid the intrusions, the DoJ said.

In all, in the coordinated multi-12 months hacking spree, the defendants largely singled out personal sector defense contractors and other govt entities, in the long run compromising more than 200,000 employee accounts.

Each individual of the defendants has been charged with conspiracy to commit laptop or computer fraud, conspiracy to dedicate wire fraud, and wire fraud. If convicted, they encounter up to five several years in prison for the computer system fraud conspiracy, and up to 20 several years in prison for every count of wire fraud and conspiracy to dedicate wire fraud.

Also, Harooni has been charged with knowingly damaging a shielded laptop, which carries a highest penalty of 10 many years in prison. Nasab, Harooni, and Salmani have also been charged with aggravated identity theft, which carries a necessary consecutive term of two decades in prison.

“Legal action originating from Iran poses a grave risk to America’s nationwide security and financial balance,” reported Attorney Basic Merrick B. Garland in a statement.

“These defendants are alleged to have engaged in a coordinated, multi-yr hacking campaign from Iran targeting extra than a dozen American corporations and the U.S. Treasury and Condition Departments.”

The development arrives amid geopolitical tensions in the Center East just after an Israeli air strike bombed Iran’s embassy in Syria, prompting the latter to launch a drone-and-missile attack on Israel, which, in transform, led to an Israeli missile strike hitting an air defense radar procedure in the vicinity of Isfahan.

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Some parts of this article are sourced from:
thehackernews.com