The Department of Justice unveiled charges against an Iranian national on Thursday for a roughly five-year hacking spree that prosecutors say infiltrated the federal government and defense contractors, alleged cybercrimes that threatened the “national security” of the U.S.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams unsealed an indictment against Alireza Shafie Nasab, who they say was able to hack the U.S. Departments of Treasury and State and two New York-based companies, in addition to defense contractors and others.
Nasab and others allegedly carried out the attacks from sometime in 2016 through April 2021, prosecutors said.
Nasab, 39, lives in Iran and remains at large.
He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison.
“As alleged, Alireza Shafie Nasab participated in a cyber campaign using spearphishing and other hacking techniques to infect more than 200,000 victim devices, many of which contained sensitive or classified defense information. Cyber intrusion schemes such as the one alleged threaten our national security,” Williams said in a press release.
Nasab purportedly worked as a cybersecurity specialist for Mahak Rayan Afraz, an Iran-based company that worked for Iran-based clients, the attorneys said. Mahak Rayan Afraz actually was a front for the alleged criminal operations, prosecutors said.
“Today’s charges highlight Iran’s corrupt cyber ecosystem, in which criminals are given free rein to target computer systems abroad and threaten U.S. sensitive information and critical infrastructure,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen said in the release.
Nasab targeted more than a dozen U.S. companies in addition to the federal agencies, prosecutors said.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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