Counterterrorism magazine ran my Threatcon column on their website.
You can read the column below:
I recall former CIA officer Gary Berntsen, whom I interviewed for the Journal some years ago, speaking about the Iranians. Berntsen tangled with the Iranians over a good number of years, and he compared their tactics, tradecraft and brutal rule to the Nazis.
So, after 47 years of Iran killing Americans, directly and indirectly, I was pleased to see President Trump, along with the Israelis, take military action against Iran. The devasting American-Israeli military attacks have set back and perhaps eliminated Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons. The idea of the Iranian fanatical clerics and military hard-liners armed with a nuclear bomb is unsettling.
In addition to financing and arming terrorist proxy groups in the Middle East, providing IEDs to cripple and murder American soldiers, and other violent actions, the Iranians have also used computer hackers to steal academic data/
On August 18th, The U.S. Justice Department announced that 17 Iranians were charged with conducting a massive cyber threat theft campaign on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian entities.
According to the Justice Department, a 14-count superseding indictment was unsealed charging 17 members of the Mabna Institute, an Iran-based company that, since at least 2013, has conducted a coordinated campaign of cyber intrusions into computer systems for 144 U.S.-based universities, 178 foreign universities, at least 42 U.S.-based private sector companies, at least 11 foreign private sector companies, at least five U.S. federal and state government agencies, and at least two non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
“The Mabna Institute stole more than 31 terabytes of academic
data and intellectual property from these universities, as well as the email
accounts of employees at the private sector companies, government agencies, and
NGOs. The defendants conducted many of these intrusions on behalf of the
Islamic Republic of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), one of
several entities within the government of Iran responsible for gathering
intelligence, as well as other Iranian government and university clients. Nine
of the 17 defendants charged in the S2 indictment were previously charged in a
7-count indictment announced in March 2018,” the Justice Department stated.
“The superseding indictment alleges that, at the behest of
entities including the IRGC, these defendants hacked into universities and
other research institutions worldwide, including the United States, stealing at
least 31 terabytes of information and intellectual property of untold value,”
said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A.
Eisenberg. “The National Security Division is committed to protecting the
United States from such predators and will pursue those who perpetrate such
crimes for as long as it takes to bring them to justice.”
U.S.
Attorney Jamie McDonald added, “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. 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. 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.
This office and our partners will continue to protect American innovation and
pursue accountability for the individuals behind these attacks.”
Assistant
Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division also weighed in. “These
defendants allegedly built and profited from a sprawling hacking-for-hire
operation that targeted the intellectual property of American and allied
universities, companies, and government agencies for the benefit of the Iranian
government. Today’s charges make clear to cyber adversaries everywhere: the
FBI’s memory is long, and time will not blunt our resolve to pursue justice.
The FBI will continue working with law enforcement and private sector partners
to identify malicious cyber actors, disrupt their operations, and impose real
cost on them, wherever they operate.”
Paul Davis’s Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism.
