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Sanctioning Iranians for Malicious Cyber Acts
The USA,14 September 2022
Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State
The United States is sanctioning ten individuals and two entities, all affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, for their roles in conducting malicious cyber acts, including ransomware activity. These designations are part of a joint action with the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, USCYBERCOM, the National Security Agency, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Ransomware incidents have disrupted critical services and businesses globally. Ransomware actors and other cybercriminals target businesses and critical infrastructure and threaten the physical security and economy of the United States and other nations. The United States is taking actions today to combat and deter ransomware threats.
Concurrently with these designations, the Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program, which is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, is highlighting three individuals under its reward offer for information on foreign malicious cyber activity against U.S. critical infrastructure. Under this reward offer, the Department is offering up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, participates in malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Today’s actions demonstrate our commitment to disrupting ransomware infrastructure and actors. The United States will not tolerate malicious cyber activities victimizing the backbone of the U.S. economy and critical infrastructure.
