The
United States on Thursday announced computer hacking charges against
seven Iranians working for firms linked to the Iranian government. The
defendants were named as Ahmad Fathi, Hamid Firoozi, Amin Shokohi,
Sadegh Ahmadzadegan, Omid Ghaffarinia, Sina Keissar and Nader Saedi
Seven Iranians working for firms linked to the Iranian government were indicted Thursday on hacking charges into US banks for over 176 days
Defendants named as Ahmad Fathi, Hamid Firoozi, Amin Shokohi, Sadegh Ahmadzadegan, Omid Ghaffarinia, Sina Keissar and Nader Saedi
The New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, American Express, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citibank and HSBC among those affected
Story after the cut ...
Hacking began in December 2011 and escalated in September 2012, occurring on a near weekly basis until May 2013
Hamid Firoozi allegedly repeatedly hacked into the system that controls the Bowman Avenue Dam in Rye, New York
Defendants named as Ahmad Fathi, Hamid Firoozi, Amin Shokohi, Sadegh Ahmadzadegan, Omid Ghaffarinia, Sina Keissar and Nader Saedi
The New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, American Express, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citibank and HSBC among those affected
Story after the cut ...
Hacking began in December 2011 and escalated in September 2012, occurring on a near weekly basis until May 2013
Hamid Firoozi allegedly repeatedly hacked into the system that controls the Bowman Avenue Dam in Rye, New York
The United States announced computer
hacking charges against seven Iranians working for firms linked to the
Iranian government on Thursday, accusing them of infiltrating dozens of
American banks and a major New York dam.
The hacking of nearly 50 banks and
financial institutions from 2011 to 2013 saw the organizations lose
tens of millions of dollars in remediation costs and the dam attack
could have imperiled public health, prosecutors said.
It came as the US Treasury named three
outfits involved in Iran's ballistic missile program to its sanctions
blacklist and one day after a consultant to the Iranian mission to the
United Nations was released on a $3million bond after being charged
with conspiracy and money laundering.
The hacking suspects were employed by
two private computer security companies in Iran, named as ITSec Team
and Mersad Co., that performed work on behalf of the government,
including the powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps, the US said.
US
Attorney General Loretta Lynch (right) said during a press conference
at the Department of Justice on Thursday that 'these attacks were
relentless, systematic and widespread'
In what prosecutors called 'a
frightening new frontier for cybercrime,' one of the suspects allegedly
hacked repeatedly into the system that controls the Bowman Avenue Dam
in Rye, New York, less than 30 miles north of Manhattan.
'Although no actual harm resulted from
that infiltration, the potential havoc of such a hack of American
infrastructure could wreak is scary to think about,' Manhattan chief
prosecutor, Preet Bharara, told reporters.
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the charges after an unsealed three-count indictment from a New York grand jury detailed how the defendants allegedly disabled servers to stop businesses from working online.
The New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ,
American Express, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citibank and HSBC
were among those affected, according to the 17-page indictment.
An
unsealed three-count indictment from a New York grand jury detailed
how the defendants allegedly disabled servers to stop businesses from
working online. Pictured left to right above are Ahmad Fathi, Amin Shokohi and Hamid Firoozi
The
New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, American Express, Bank of America,
J.P. Morgan Chase and Citibank were among those affected, according to
the 17-page indictment. Pictured above left is Mohammad Sadegh
Ahmadzadegan and right is Omid Ghaffarinia
Lynch
said at the press conference the hackers were worked for the Iranian
government. Pictured above left is Sina Keissar and Nader Saedi is right
Thursday's announcement comes one month
after President Barack Obama unveiled a $19 billion cybersecurity
action plan as his intelligence chief warned of the growing risks from
new technologies that open more doors to hackers.
'Today we have unsealed an indictment
against seven alleged experienced hackers employed by computer security
companies working on behalf of the Iranian government, including the
Revolutionary Guard Corps,' Lynch said.
Founded in the aftermath of the 1979
revolution, the Guard Corps is a hugely powerful and influential
security institution in Iran responsible for defending the Islamic
republic against domestic and foreign threats.
'Online services were disrupted.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans were unable to access bank accounts
online. These attacks were relentless, systematic and widespread,'
Lynch told reporters.
'We believe they were conducted with the sole purpose of undermining the companies and damaging America's free markets.'
US
Attorney of the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara said:
'Although no actual harm resulted from that infiltration, the potential
havoc of such a hack of American infrastructure could wreak is scary
to think about'
US
officials said during the press conference that the hacking began in
December 2011 and escalated in September 2012, occurring on a near
weekly basis until May 2013, spanning 176 days in total
The hacking began in December 2011 and
escalated in September 2012, occurring on a near weekly basis until May
2013, spanning 176 days in total.
The defendants were named as Ahmad
Fathi, Hamid Firoozi, Amin Shokohi, Sadegh Ahmadzadegan, Omid
Ghaffarinia, Sina Keissar and Nader Saedi.
Firoozi was charged with unauthorized
access to a protected computer for allegedly using a computer in Iran
to hack into the controls of the Bowman Dam, causing more than $30,000
in remediation costs.
He allegedly hacked into it repeatedly between August and September 2013, allowing him to access to information about water levels and temperature.
It would also have allowed him to
operate and manipulate the sluice gates -- barriers that control water
levels and flow on a dam -- had the gates not been disconnected for
maintenance, prosecutors said.
Hamid
Firoozi, one of the seven defendants, was charged with unauthorized
access to a protected computer for allegedly using a computer in Iran
to hack into the controls of the Bowman Dam (above) in Rye, New York
'But for that fact, that access would
have given the defendant the access to control water levels, flow
rates, an outcome that could have posed a clear and present danger to
the public health and safety of Americans,' said Lynch.
On Thursday, the US Treasury also named
units involved in Iran's ballistic missile program to its sanctions
blacklist, two weeks after the country ran missile tests that
Washington labeled 'provocative and destabilizing.'
The Treasury specifically placed
sanctions on Shahid Nuri Industries and Shahid Movahed Industries, both
units of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group responsible for Iran's
liquid-fueled ballistic missile program.
It also sanctioned the Al-Ghadir
Missile Command of the Revolutionary Guard -- the corps that manages
the country's ballistic missiles.
In New York, US citizen Ahmad
Sheikhzadeh, a consultant to the Iranian mission to the United Nations,
was freed from custody Wednesday by a US federal judge on a $3 million
bond following his recent arrest.
According to an unsealed indictment, he
faces seven charges in Brooklyn -- five counts of falsifying income
tax returns, as well as conspiring to violate laws about doing business
with Iran and money laundering.
Firoozi
caused more than $30,000 in damages and allegedly hacked into it
repeatedly between August and September 2013. He had access to
information about water levels and temperature
No comments:
Post a Comment