Amir Barati was arrested in Montenegro in June at the request of the FBI and extradited to the U.S. to face wire and computer fraud charges. He is one of 17 individuals indicted in August, all described as members of the Mabna Institute, an Iran-based company linked to state-backed hacking.
The alleged campaign began in 2013 and spanned several years, resulting in the theft of over 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property. The hackers breached roughly 8,000 email accounts belonging to professors and targeted 144 universities, 42 private companies, and five government agencies in the U.S., including the Department of Labor and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Internationally, 178 universities, 11 companies, and at least two non-governmental organizations were also affected. The total losses and damages are estimated at $3.4 billion.
According to U.S. court documents, the stolen data and unauthorized access were handed over to the Iranian government and used to benefit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian entities. Barati is accused of helping track the progress of university hacks and creating targeting lists for the private sector.
The case is notable because accused Iranian hackers rarely face U.S. courts. The extradition follows other recent cyber incidents linked to Iran, including suspected attacks on U.S. water suppliers and a data-wiping attack that affected over 200,000 devices. The defendants are expected to appear in the U.S. Southern District of New York.