By Al-Fassel | 2024-04-25

The US Treasury Department has sanctioned two companies and four individuals involved in "malicious cyber activity" on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC).

The IRGC-CEC works through a series of front companies to target the United States and several other countries, the Treasury said in a statement on April 23.

"These actors targeted more than a dozen US companies and government entities through cyber operations, including spear phishing and malware attacks," it said.

Much of the Iranian public is not aware that some companies such as Mehrsam Andisheh Saz Nik, targeted in the latest sanctions, are used as front companies to support the IRGC-CEC, the department said.

"The Iranian public should be aware that the IRGC-CEC uses private companies and their employees to achieve illegal goals," it added.

"Iranian malicious cyber actors continue to target US companies and government entities in a coordinated, multi-pronged campaign intended to destabilize our critical infrastructure and cause harm to our citizens," said US Treasury official Brian Nelson.

"The United States will continue to leverage our whole-of-government approach to expose and disrupt these networks' operations," Nelson added.

In addition to the sanctions, the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have indicted the four individuals in question -- Hosein Haruni, Reza Kazemifar, Komeil Baradaran Salmani and Alireza Shafie Nasab.

The US Department of State's Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is also offering a reward of up to $10 million and possible relocation for information leading to the Iranian hackers.