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US charges 17 Iranians with a large-scale cyber campaign

19 August 2026 01:50 (UTC +04:00)

US authorities have charged 17 Iranian citizens with a large-scale campaign to hack the computer systems of universities, companies, and government agencies, alleging that they acted on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other Iranian entities, it was announced by the US Department of Justice, APA reports.

According to the agency, since 2013, the defendants have attacked the computer systems of 144 American and 178 foreign universities, at least 53 companies, as well as a number of government agencies and non-governmental organizations. The attackers gained access to approximately 8,000 faculty accounts and stole at least 31.5 terabytes of scientific data and intellectual property.

The US Department of Justice claims that some of the attacks were carried out at the behest of the IRGC, and the stolen data was also sold to clients in Iran. According to a statement on the department's website, the targets of the cyberattacks included the US Department of Labor, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the state governments of Hawaii and Indiana, the UN, and the UN Children's Fund.