WASHINGTON – The Justice Department on Friday announced charges against 9 Iranians in a government-sponsored hacking scheme that pilfered sensitive information from hundreds of universities, private companies and government agencies.
The Iranian defendants are accused of working at the behest of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to steal large quantities of academic data from hundreds of universities in the United States and abroad as well as email accounts belonging to employees of government agencies and private companies.
Prosecutors say the defendants were affiliated with the Mabna Institute, an Iranian company that since at least 2013 has contracted with the Iranian government to conduct hacking.
The defendants are unlikely to ever be prosecuted in an American courtroom since there’s no extradition treaty with Iran. But the case is part of the government’s “name and shame” strategy to publicly identify foreign hackers and put their countries on notice.
Also Friday, the Treasury Department designated the Mabna Institute and the nine Iranians for sanctions.
“Today, not only are we publicly identifying the foreign hackers who committed these malicious cyber intrusions, but we are also sending a powerful message to their backers, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran: your acts do not go unnoticed,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
“We will protect our innovation, ideas and information, and we will use every tool in our toolbox to expose those who commit these cybercrimes. Our memory is long; we will hold them accountable under the law, no matter where they attempt to hid,” he added.
Reports: FBI investigated AG for possible false statements
The FBI investigated Attorney General Jeff Sessions for possible false statements to Congress, according to published reports.
ABC News first reported that Andrew McCabe, the former deputy FBI director fired last week by Sessions, authorized an investigation into Sessions last year about whether Sessions misled Congress when he denied having any contacts with Russians during the 2016 presidential election.
The Justice Department later acknowledged that Sessions had had two encounters with the then-Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. That led congressional Democrats to seek an FBI investigation into whether Sessions had knowingly made false statements.
Sessions stepped aside in March 2017 from overseeing the Justice Department’s investigation into possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. Sessions’ deputy, Rod Rosenstein, is now in charge of the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed last May and who interviewed Sessions earlier this year.
Chuck Cooper, a lawyer for Sessions, said he has been told that there’s no current investigation into Sessions for false statements.
“The Special Counsel’s Office has informed me that after interviewing the Attorney General and conducting additional investigation, the Attorney General is not under investigation for false statements or perjury in his confirmation hearing testimony and related written submissions to Congress,” Cooper said.
Sessions’ statement came at a January 2017 confirmation hearing in response to a question from then-Sen. Al. Franken, D-Minn. He asked Sessions what he would do if there was evidence that anyone from the Trump campaign had been in touch with the Russian government during the campaign.
Sessions replied he was “unaware of those activities.”
Then he added: “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn’t have, did not have communications with the Russians, and I’m unable to comment on it.”
The Justice Department said Sessions’ answer was not misleading because he had not been asked about meetings he had with Russian officials while he was a Republican senator from Alabama. Sessions withdrew from the Russia investigation the day after his contacts with Kislyak were disclosed. Sessions said he could not oversee an investigation into a campaign in which he was involved.
As for McCabe, Session said he dismissed the former FBI official based on a recommendation from bureau disciplinary officials, who concluded that McCabe had not been candid during an investigation by an internal watchdog.