US charges 17 Iranians over 'massive' cyber theft campaign - BBC News

Many of the alleged cyber attacks were carried out for the Iranian government, the Department of Justice says.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Department of Justice said the hackers were part of an alleged "sweeping, state-sponsored" effort to steal data.

Seventeen Iranians have been charged for allegedly conducting a years long "co-ordinated campaign" of cyber attacks in an effort to steal data from US organisations.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said members of the Iran-based Mabna Institute had targeted the computer systems of 144 American universities and 42 private sector firms since at least 2013.

The group is alleged to have stolen more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property worth approximately $3.4bn (£2.5bn) over the course of the "massive" campaign, the DoJ said.

FBI assistant director in charge James C Barnacle Jr described the co-ordinated cyber attacks as "a serious threat to our national security".