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)
TT

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.



Russian Cargo Ship Which Sank off Spanish Coast Was Victim of ‘Act of Terrorism,’ RIA Cites Owner

In this handout image released by the Portuguese Navy on December 22, 2024, the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major is watched during a monitoring operation conducted by the Portuguese Navy along the Continental Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of Portugal. (Handout / Portuguese Navy / AFP)
In this handout image released by the Portuguese Navy on December 22, 2024, the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major is watched during a monitoring operation conducted by the Portuguese Navy along the Continental Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of Portugal. (Handout / Portuguese Navy / AFP)
TT

Russian Cargo Ship Which Sank off Spanish Coast Was Victim of ‘Act of Terrorism,’ RIA Cites Owner

In this handout image released by the Portuguese Navy on December 22, 2024, the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major is watched during a monitoring operation conducted by the Portuguese Navy along the Continental Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of Portugal. (Handout / Portuguese Navy / AFP)
In this handout image released by the Portuguese Navy on December 22, 2024, the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major is watched during a monitoring operation conducted by the Portuguese Navy along the Continental Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of Portugal. (Handout / Portuguese Navy / AFP)

A Russian cargo ship called Ursa Major which sank in the Mediterranean Sea was the victim of "an act of terrorism," state news agency RIA cited the vessel's owner as saying on Wednesday.

The ship, built in 2009, sank after an explosion ripped through its engine room and two of its 16 crew were missing, the Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

RIA cited Oboronlogistika, the ship's ultimate owner and a company that is part of the Russian Defense Ministry's military construction operations, as saying the vessel had been targeted in "a terrorist act."

Oboronlogistika had previously said that the ship had been en route to the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok with two giant port cranes lashed to its deck.