Overview
The US Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of individuals engaged in malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure. This initiative specifically targets those acting under the direction of foreign governments, in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Key Individuals
The following Iranian security officials are linked to cyber operations conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC):
Hamid Homayunfal
Hamid Reza Lashgarian: Head of the IRGC’s Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC) and commander in the IRGC-Qods Force.
Mahdi Lashgarian
Milad Mansuri
Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar
Reza Mohammad Amin Saberian
These officials have been implicated in various cyber and intelligence operations targeting U.S. interests.
Cyber Activities
The group known as CyberAv3ngers, affiliated with the IRGC-CEC, has been involved in significant cyberattacks, including:
Compromising Vision series programmable logic controllers (PLCs) produced by Unitronics, which are utilized across several critical sectors such as water management, energy, and healthcare.
In October 2023, CyberAv3ngers claimed responsibility for these attacks via their Telegram channel.
Since November 22, 2023, compromised PLCs across the U.S. displayed messages such as “You have been hacked, down with Israel,” indicating a clear motive behind the cyber intrusions.
U.S. Government Response
On February 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on the aforementioned IRGC-CEC officials. These sanctions include:
Designation as Specially Designated Nationals under Executive Order 13224.
Blocking of all property and interests held in the U.S. or controlled by U.S. persons.
Prohibition of transactions involving designated individuals or entities.
Source » irannewsupdate