What was the big announcement this morning.

[onecaliberal]

[wishstar]

1. Iranians charged with hacking

https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/deputy-attorney-general-rosenstein-delivers-remarks-announcing-nine-iranians-charged

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/nine-iranians-charged-conducting-massive-cyber-theft-campaign-behalf-islamic-revolutionary

Nine Iranians Charged With Conducting Massive Cyber Theft Campaign on Behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Mabna Institute Hackers Penetrated Systems Belonging to Hundreds of Universities, Companies, and Other Victims to Steal Research, Academic and Proprietary Data, and Intellectual Property

An Indictment charging Gholamreza Rafatnejad, 38; Ehsan Mohammadi, 37; Abdollah Karima, aka Vahid Karima, 39; Mostafa Sadeghi, 28; Seyed Ali Mirkarimi, 34; Mohammed Reza Sabahi, 26; Roozbeh Sabahi, 24; Abuzar Gohari Moqadam, 37; and Sajjad Tahmasebi, 30, all citizens and residents of Iran, was unsealed today. The defendants were each leaders, contractors, associates, hackers-for-hire or affiliates of the Mabna Institute, an Iran-based company that, since at least 2013, conducted a coordinated campaign of cyber intrusions into computer systems belonging to 144 U.S. universities, 176 universities across 21 foreign countries, 47 domestic and foreign private sector companies, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the State of Hawaii, the State of Indiana, the United Nations, and the United Nations Children’s Fund. Through the defendants’ activities, the Mabna Institute stole more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from universities, and email accounts of employees at private sector companies, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations. The defendants conducted many of these intrusions on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s (Iran) 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. In addition to these criminal charges, today the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Mabna Institute and the nine defendants for sanctions for the malicious cyber-enabled activity outlined in the Indictment.

[onecaliberal]

2. Thanks

[Shrike47]

3. Big whoop, little to see. Yawn.

[onecaliberal]

4. Yeah that was my thought too.

[Tatiana]

5. Is there a Russian connection?

Why the announcement of this announcement?

On its surface, it looks like academic data was stolen.

But it was only sold to clients within Iran? Does that make sense?

Through the defendants’ activities, the Mabna Institute stole more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from universities, and email accounts of employees at private sector companies, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations.

Any emails of people we would know?

[LuvLoogie]

6. Iranian hacking versus Russian hacking and the relative

reactions and nonreactions to either by the trump administration. Given Bolton's new position and mindset, it brings into clearer focus the destructive and perhaps traitorous bent of this administration.

Unfortunately we are still reliant upon the press and politicians to pose the question. Rosenstein just handed the resistance a big opportunity to put this administration's feet to the fire.