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 areAhmad 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
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