US charges 17 Iranians over alleged years-long cyber attack campaign

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said members of the Iran-based Mabna Institute had targeted the computer systems of 144 American universities and 42 private sector firms since at least 2013.

In addition to academic institutions, Mabna is alleged to have targeted and compromised employee email accounts from at least five US federal and state government agencies.

At least 42 US-based private companies and 11 foreign companies based in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, and the UK were also targeted, the DoJ said.