Key facts
- U.S. prosecutors charged 17 alleged Iranian hackers from the Mabna Institute.
- The group is accused of a years-long cyber campaign, including the 2017 HBO hack.
- During the HBO hack, hackers attempted to extort the company for approximately $6 million in Bitcoin.
- The Mabna Institute allegedly stole over 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property.
- The institute targeted universities, companies, and government agencies globally for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other clients.
U.S. prosecutors have charged 17 individuals allegedly affiliated with Iran-based Mabna Institute for their involvement in a widespread cyber campaign spanning several years. The charges include participation in the 2017 hack of HBO, during which the group attempted to extort the company for approximately $6 million in Bitcoin.
According to the Justice Department, the Mabna Institute acted on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other Iranian government and university entities. The group is accused of stealing at least 31.5 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from hundreds of universities, companies, and government agencies globally. Prosecutors detailed that the hackers compromised around 8,000 accounts across 144 U.S. universities and 178 foreign universities, utilizing methods such as spearphishing and stolen credentials.
Behzad Mesri was previously identified as a defendant in the HBO hack. Five other individuals—Saeid Houshyar, Manouchehr Hashemloo, Keyvan Fayaz, Saber Shahbazi Ballojeh, and Arman Kahzadian—are also named as directly involved in the breach. The FBI highlighted that this operation profited the Iranian government by targeting intellectual property.
The charges come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, with the U.S. intensifying efforts to disrupt cryptocurrency networks allegedly used by Iran and the IRGC for financial transactions and sanctions evasion. Recent U.S. Treasury actions include sanctioning Iranian crypto exchanges and freezing assets linked to Iran's central bank and armed forces. The State Department is offering substantial rewards for information leading to the apprehension of five of the defendants.