DOJ charges 17 in Iran-backed hacking campaign against US colleges

The Department of Justice charged 17 members of the Iran-based Mabna Institute for their alleged roles in a coordinated cyberattack campaign targeting universities, businesses, and government agencies on behalf of Iranian entities. Prosecutors allege that the group targeted more than 100,000 professor accounts, successfully compromised approximately 8,00 accounts at 144 U.S. and 178 foreign universities, and stole more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property. The campaign, which began in 2013, relied in part on phishing and stolen university credentials to access research and library resources, highlighting the continuing cybersecurity risks facing higher education institutions and their academic information systems.