Iranian Accused in $3 Billion Hack Extradited to US

An Iranian man accused of involvement in a hacking scheme that targeted more than 150 American universities and companies, and data worth over $3 billion, has been extradited from Montenegro to the United States to face criminal charges.

An Iranian man accused of involvement in a hacking scheme that targeted more than 150 American universities and companies and data worth more than $3 billion has been extradited from Montenegro to the United States to face criminal charges. This issue was recently announced by the police of this European country and a person familiar with the case.

According to the report of Asr Persinan, CNN announced: Amir Barati, 40 years old, is going to face the charges of telecommunication and computer fraud in the Southern Jurisdiction of New York.

He and 16 other Iranian citizens faced these charges in the amended indictment in August. Montenegrin police arrested Brati in June at the request of the FBI. Brati also has Turkish citizenship.

Brati's extradition is good news for the US executive forces, because these forces are trying to curb Tehran's cyber capabilities during the current US war with Iran. On the other hand, accused Iranian hackers rarely appear in American courts.

Bratti and the other defendants in the case are accused of participating in a multi-year campaign, which began in 2013, to steal data from universities and companies around the world. During this operation, about 8 thousand email accounts belonging to university professors in America, Europe and other parts of the world were hacked.

According to the indictment, the academic data and intellectual property targeted by the hackers cost US universities about $3.4 billion to "make available and accessible." In this regard, CNN could not contact Barati's lawyer.

One of the companies that is said to be the victim of these attacks is HBO, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN.

According to US court documents, Bratti allegedly helped track the progress of university hacking and was involved in preparing "target lists" for the private sector. According to the US Department of Justice, 11 technology companies and two defense contractors were among the private American companies that were hacked.

According to American officials, in addition to Bratti, other members of this attack have also hacked the US Department of Labor, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the United Nations. Prosecutors also claim that many of these intrusions were carried out on behalf of Iran's military institutions.

A spokesman for the Southern Judiciary of New York refused to comment on Brati's extradition.

According to this report, Iran's extensive capabilities in the field of hacking, during the seven months of war with America and Israel, allowed Tehran to threaten the vital infrastructure of America. During this period, Iran has been the main suspect of cyber attacks on US water systems, card reader devices of gasoline pumps, a large manufacturer of medical equipment and the private email account of Kash Patel, the director of the FBI.