The US has announced computer hacking charges against seven Iranians working for firms linked to the Iranian government, 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 organisations 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 programme to its sanctions blacklist and one day after a consultant to the Iranian mission at the UN was released on a $3mn bond after being charged with conspiracy and money laundering.
The developments cut through hopes eight months ago that the nuclear deal reached between Iran, the US and five other nations would put Tehran and Washington relations on a firmer footing.
The hacking suspects were employed by two private computer security companies in Iran, named as ITSec Team and Mersad, that performed work on behalf of the government, including the powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps, the US said.
In what prosecutors called “a frightening new frontier for cybercrime,” one suspect allegedly hacked into the system that controls the Bowman Avenue Dam in Rye, New York, less than 50kms 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.
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.
The announcement comes one month after President Barack Obama unveiled a $19bn cybersecurity action plan as his intelligence chief warned of the growing risks from new technologies that open more doors to hackers.
“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 Revolutionary Guards is a hugely powerful and influential security institution in Iran responsible for defending the country 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.