The U.S. Department of State has offered a $10 million reward for information on three cyber operatives linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), identified as Ali Aghamiri, Yaser Balaghi, and Masoud Jalili.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on Wednesday, September 17, that the three are wanted in connection with malicious cyber activities linked to the IRGC.
According to the FBI, the three Iranians are charged with conspiracy to obtain information from a protected computer, fraud through identity theft and false authentication, and providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations.
A Washington D.C. court last September charged the three IRGC operatives with multiple cyber-related crimes and issued arrest warrants for them.
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The FBI added that since 2019, IRGC-attributed cyber activities have targeted individuals connected to the 2024 U.S. presidential election campaigns as well as those involved in Iran and Middle East affairs, including former and current senior government officials, senior think tank experts, journalists, and activists.
Cyberattack on Gaza ceasefire talks
On August 29, cybersecurity firm “Dream” announced that it had uncovered a sophisticated cyberattack originating from Iran.
According to the company, the attack was “designed to undermine mediation processes and trust among countries” and even infiltrated the Cairo talks for a Gaza ceasefire.
In this operation, hackers linked to the Iranian regime managed to breach the real email account of an employee at the Omani embassy in Paris, enabling them to send messages that closely resembled official diplomatic correspondence.
The company, which develops AI platforms to protect governments and national assets, said that from this account, messages were sent to diplomatic networks containing seemingly harmless Microsoft Word files, which in fact contained advanced malware that activated when opened.
In recent years, Iranian Regime has repeatedly been accused of similar activities, including a ransomware attack on a children’s hospital in New England, plots to assassinate U.S. officials on American soil, and attempts to kill an exiled Iranian dissident journalist in the U.S.
On June 25, the Associated Press reported an escalation in cyberattacks by regime-linked hacker groups following U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, writing: “American banks, military contractors, and oil companies have been targeted in recent days.”
On August 19, 2024, the FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies issued a joint statement declaring Iran’s regime responsible for recent attempts to hack the campaign headquarters of Donald Trump and the Biden-Harris ticket.
