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US Offers $10 Million Reward for Information on 3 Iranians over Hacking Scheme

This handout image provided by the State Department on September 14, 2022 shows the poster of Iranian cyber actors Ahmad Khatibi, Mansour Ahmadi, and Amir Hossein Nickaein Ravari, wanted for their involvement in a coordinated campaign that compromised hundreds of computer networks across the United States and abroad. (Photo by Handout / US DEPARTMENT OF STATE / AFP)
This handout image provided by the State Department on September 14, 2022 shows the poster of Iranian cyber actors Ahmad Khatibi, Mansour Ahmadi, and Amir Hossein Nickaein Ravari, wanted for their involvement in a coordinated campaign that compromised hundreds of computer networks across the United States and abroad. (Photo by Handout / US DEPARTMENT OF STATE / AFP)
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US Offers $10 Million Reward for Information on 3 Iranians over Hacking Scheme

This handout image provided by the State Department on September 14, 2022 shows the poster of Iranian cyber actors Ahmad Khatibi, Mansour Ahmadi, and Amir Hossein Nickaein Ravari, wanted for their involvement in a coordinated campaign that compromised hundreds of computer networks across the United States and abroad. (Photo by Handout / US DEPARTMENT OF STATE / AFP)
This handout image provided by the State Department on September 14, 2022 shows the poster of Iranian cyber actors Ahmad Khatibi, Mansour Ahmadi, and Amir Hossein Nickaein Ravari, wanted for their involvement in a coordinated campaign that compromised hundreds of computer networks across the United States and abroad. (Photo by Handout / US DEPARTMENT OF STATE / AFP)

The State Department is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the capture of three Iranians, who it said have worked for tech companies linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.

The Iranians have been charged with trying to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from organizations in the United States, Europe, Iran and Israel, including a domestic violence shelter, by hacking in to their computer systems, US officials said on Wednesday.

Other targets included local US governments, regional utilities in Mississippi and Indiana, accounting firms and a state lawyers' association, according to charges filed by the US Justice Department.

The defendants, named Mansour Ahmadi, Ahmad Khatibi and Amir Hossein Nikaein, are citizens of Iran who own or are employed by private technology companies in the country.

The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on the three Iranians, as well as several other individuals and two organizations they said were part of Tehran's "malicious" cyber and ransomware activity.

“The government of Iran has created a safe haven where cybercriminals acting for personal gain flourish and defendants like these are able to hack and extort victims, including critical infrastructure providers,” said Matthew G. Olsen, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s national security division.

The men remain at large in Iran, and prosecutors said they were highly unlikely to face trial in the United States. Officials said they hoped that by exposing the group, they might prevent future attacks.

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Russia Stages First Missile Attack on Kyiv Since August

Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer
Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer
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Russia Stages First Missile Attack on Kyiv Since August

Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer
Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer

Blasts boomed across Kyiv on Wednesday morning after officials said Russia launched its first missile attack on the Ukrainian capital since August, forcing elderly women and small children to take shelter in an underground metro station.
Ukrainians have been waiting for a big missile attack for months, worried that it could deal a new blow to the hobbled energy system and cause long blackouts as winter sets in.
Air defenses intercepted two incoming cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles and 37 drones across the country, the air force said. No casualties or major damage were reported in Kyiv.
"Putin is launching a missile attack on Kyiv right now," Andriy Yermak, the head of the president's office, wrote on Telegram.
Falling debris came down in the region outside Kyiv, injuring a 48-year-old man and causing a fire at a warehouse, the head of Kyiv region's administration said.
Kyiv has faced Russian drone attacks almost nightly for weeks. City mayor Vitali Klitschko said a drone was still flying over central Kyiv in the morning.
"Explosions in the city. Air defense forces are working. Stay in shelters!" the Kyiv city administration wrote on Telegram.
Around 100 residents took shelter in the central metro station Universitet, including small children sleeping on yoga mats and elderly women sitting on fold-out chairs.
Some complained of a lack of sleep from the regular drone attacks, which trigger the air raid alert that sounds across the city and buzzes on phones.
"The mornings are totally ruined. I started college in September and every morning has been ruined by the bloody Russians. I cannot sleep, cannot think and I drink energy drinks all the time," said Mykyta, a teenager hugging his dog in the metro.
MASSIVE ATTACK
Russia targeted Ukrainian power facilities with strikes earlier this year, causing blackouts. The situation has since improved, but officials believe the Kremlin may plan to attack the grid again soon.
Andrii Kovalenko, a senior official at the National Security and Defence Council, warned that Russia was ready to conduct another "massive" attack and had accumulated a large number of cruise missiles.
After Wednesday's strike, power grid operator Ukrenergo said it would limit electricity supply for businesses due to "significantly" lower power imports and lower generation.
The last time restrictions on power supplies were imposed on both businesses and households was after a big Russian missile and drone attack in late August.
It was unclear whether the new restrictions were linked to the latest attack. Ukraine's largest private power generator and distributor DTEK said the restrictions would apply to Kyiv, the surrounding region and the regions of Odesa, Dnipro and Donetsk.
Despite regular drone attacks, Russia has not struck Kyiv with missiles since Aug. 26 when it launched a massive attack across the country that officials said deployed more than 200 drones and missiles. That attack killed seven people, Ukraine said.