Anons are chickens. Confirmed.
Aw shit! Didn't even think of that anon! He did say it was sanctioned by the Iranian state.
DEPUTY A.G. ROSENSTEIN: GOOD MORNING. FOR MANY DECADES, THE UNITED STATES HAS LED THE WORLD IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT. HOSTILE INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND NATION STATES HAVE TAKEN NOTE OF OUR SUCCESS. THE INCREASE IN THE ATTEMPT TO PROFIT FROM AMERICANS INGENUITY BY INFILTRATING OUR COMPUTER SYSTEMS, STEALING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND ABATING CONTROLS ON EXPORTS. WHEN HACKERS GAIN UNLAWFUL ACCESS TO COMPUTERS, IT CAN TAKE THEM ONLY A FEW MINUTES TO STEAL DISCOVERIES THAT WERE PRODUCED BY MANY YEARS OF WORK IN MANY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT. THAT TYPE OF ACTIVITY DOES NOT JUST CAUSE ECONOMIC HARM. IT ALSO THREATENS AMERICA'S NATIONAL SECURITY. IDENTIFYING AND PROSECUTING COMPUTER HACKERS IS A TOP PRIORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. WE ARE HERE TODAY TO ANNOUNCE THAT A FEDERAL GRAND JURY IN THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK INDICTED NINE IRANIANS FOR CONSPIRING TO HACK INTO COMPUTERS AND ATTEMPTING TO DEFRAUD AMERICAN AND FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES, BUSINESSES, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. I WANT TO CAUTION YOU THAT AN INDICTMENT IS NOT IF FINDING OF GUILT. IN THE AMERICAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM, DEFENDANTS ARE ASSUMED INNOCENT UNLESS AND UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN COURT. THE INDICTMENT ALLEGES THE DEFENDANTS WORKED ON BEHALF OF THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT, SPECIFICALLY THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CORPS. THEY HAVE TO THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS OF APPROXIMATELY 120 UNIVERSITIES – PARDON ME, APPROXIMATELY 320 UNIVERSITIES IN 22 COUNTRIES. 144 OF THE UNIVERSITY VICTIMS ARE AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES. THE DEFENDANTS STOLE RESEARCH THAT COST THOSE UNIVERSITIES FOUR POINT $2 BILLION TO PROCURE AND MAINTAIN. THAT INFORMATION WAS USED BY THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARD OR SOLD FOR PROFIT IN IRAN. THE DEFENDANTS WORKED FOR AN ORGANIZATION THAT TWO OF THE DEFENDANTS FOUNDED FOR THE STATED PURPOSE OF HELPING IRANIAN DIVERSITIES ACCESS SCIENTIFIC – UNIVERSITIES ACCESS TO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. THE WORK CONSISTED OF STEALING RESEARCH THROUGH ILLEGAL COMPUTER INTRUSIONS. THE INDICTMENT CHARGES NINE DEFENDANTS FOR COMMITTING SEVEN FEDERAL FRONT – CRIMES THAT INCLUDE COMPUTER FRAUD, WIRE FRAUD, CONSPIRACY, AND IDENTITY THEFT.
Part 2
I WANT TO MAKE TWO ADDITIONAL POINTS BEFORE I TURN THE MICROPHONE OVER TO UNITED STATES ATTORNEY JEFFREY BERMAN, WHO WILL PROVIDE MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE ALLEGATIONS AND THE DEFENDANTS. FIRST, EVERY SECTOR OF OUR ECONOMY IS THE TARGET OF MALICIOUS CYBER ATTACKS. EVERYONE THAT OWNS A COMPUTER NEEDS TO BE VIGILANT TO PREVENT ATTACKS. ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS ARE PRIME TARGETS FOR FOREIGN CYBER COMMANDS. UNIVERSITIES CAN THRIVE AS MARKETPLACES OF IDEAS AND ENGINES OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ONLY IF THEIR WORK IS PROTECTED FROM THEFT. THE EVENTS DESCRIBED IN THIS INDICTMENT HIGHLIGHT THE NEED FOR UNIVERSITIES AND ALL OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO EMPHASIZE CYBER SECURITY, INCREASED THREAT AWARENESS, AND HARDEN COMPUTER NETWORKS. THE SECOND IMPORTANT POINT IS THAT OUR WORK ON THIS CASE IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT WILL DISRUPT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE INSTITUTE AND IT WILL DO TOWARD – DETER SIMILAR CRIMES BY OTHER PERPETRATORS. THE INDICTMENT PUBLICLY IDENTIFIES THE CONSPIRATORS. IN THIS TIME OF PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION, IT HELPS TO DETER STATE-SPONSORED COMPUTER INTRUSIONS BY STRIPPING HACKERS OF THEIR ANONYMITY AND BY IMPOSING REAL CONSEQUENCES, REVEALING THE MOUNTAIN'S INSTITUTE NEFARIOUS ACTIVITIES MAKES IT HARDER FOR THEM TO DO BUSINESS. ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE WORKING WITH FOREIGN AGENCIES IN PROVIDING THE PRIVATE SECTOR WITH INFORMATION THAT WOULD HELP NEUTRALIZE THE HACKING INFRASTRUCTURE. BY BRINGING THESE CRIMINAL CHARGES WE REINFORCE THE NORM THAT MOST OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD ACCEPTS – NATIONSTATES SHOULD NOT STEAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FOR THE PURPOSE OF GIVING DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. AS A RESULT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, THE – INDICTMENT, THESE DEFENDANTS ARE NOW FUGITIVES FROM JUSTICE. THERE ARE MORE THAN 100 COUNTRIES WHERE THEY MAY FACE ARREST AND EXTRADITION TO THE UNITED STATES. THANKS TO THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, THE DEFENDANTS WILL FIND IT DIFFICULT TO ENGAGE IN BUSINESS OR FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS OUTSIDE OF I RAN. BY MAKING CLEAR THE CRIMINAL ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES, WE DETER SCHEMES TO VICTIMIZE THE UNITED STATES, ITS COMPANIES, AND ITS CITIZENS, AND WE HELP TO PROTECT OUR FOREIGN ALLIES. IN SUMMARY, THE UNITED STATES IS TAKING SEVERAL COORDINATED ACTIONS TO COINCIDE WITH UNSEAL ING THIS INDICTMENT. WE ARE IMPOSING FINANCIAL SANCTIONS ON THE INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS. WE ARE RELEASING INFORMATION ABOUT CYBER VULNERABILITIES, WHICH WILL HELP PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS PERFECT – PROTECT THEMSELVES, AND WE ARE ASSISTING INTERNATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS. I AM GRATEFUL TO SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN FOR USING THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT'S AUTHORITIES TO REINFORCE THE CHARGES ARE I ALSO WANT TO THINK GEOFFREY BERMAN, JOHN DEMURS, FBI DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER WRAY, AND THE MANY EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL WHO WORKED TO SECURE THE SUPPORT INDICTMENT. I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY FROM SOUTHERN NEW YORK, GEOFFREY BERMAN.
Copypasta from the autotranscribe on the DOJ site. It sucks, but it'll be easier to pick apart his remarks if we have them in front of us.
Anons….do you want me to copypasta Berman's remarks, too?
MR. BERMAN: THANK YOU, ROD. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS GEOFFREY BERMAN, AND I'M BEEN AS STATE FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. TODAY, IN ONE OF THE LARGEST STATE-SPONSORED HACKING CAMPAIGNS EVER PROSECUTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WE HAVE UNMASKED CRIMINALS NORMALLY WORK IN TOTAL ANONYMITY, HIDING BEHIND THE 1'S AND 0'S OF COMPUTER CODES. THIS MASSIVE AND BRAZEN CYBER ASSAULT ON SYSTEMS OF 144 U.S. UNIVERSITIES, 176 FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES IN 21 COUNTRIES, AND DOZENS OF GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND PRIVATE COMPANIES. THIS ASSAULT WAS CONDUCTED ON BEHALF OF THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT'S ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARD, OR IRGC. AS THE INDICTMENT ALLEGES, THE DEFENDANTS WERE LEADERS OF THE INSTITUTE, AND IRANIAN COMPANY THAT CONDUCTED THE ASSAULT AT THE BEHEST OF THE IRG C AND SOLD THE LEGAL FRUITS OF THE HACKING. COMPANY WAS SET UP IN 2013 BY TWO DEFENDANTS. – WHILE THE COMPANY'S NAME MAY SOUND LEGITIMATE, THE SO-CALLED INSTITUTE WAS SET UP FOR ONE REASON ONLY – TO STEAL SCIENTIFIC RESOURCES FROM OTHER COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. THE DEFENDANT'S GLOBAL CAMPAIGN OPERATED IN THREE PARTS – THE UNIVERSITY CAMPAIGN, PRIVATE COMPANY HACKS, AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ENTITY JHACKS. WITH RESPECT TO THE UNIVERSITY CAMPAIGN FROM 2013 TO 2017, THE DEFENDANTS TARGETED MORE THAN 100,000 ACCOUNTS OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS AROUND THE WORLD, AND BY TRACKING PROFESSORS – TRICKING PROFESSORS TO CLICK ON FALSE LINKS, COMPROMISED 8000 ACCOUNTS. ONCE THEY GAINED ACCESS, THE DEFENDANTS SOLD MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF ACADEMIC DATA AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. UNIVERSITIES COMBINED HAD TO PAY $3.4 BILLION TO ACCESS THIS INFORMATION. THE DEFENDANTS GOT IT FOR FREE. THEY TARGETED DATA AND RESEARCH FROM ALL FIELDS, INCLUDING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
ENGINEERING, SOCIAL SCIENCE, MEDICAL, AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL FIELDS. IN TOTAL, THEY SOLD AT LEAST 31 POINT – 31 POINT FIVE TERABYTES OF DATA, OVER 15 BILLION PAGES, AND SINCE THAT DATA BACK TO COMPUTERS THEY CONTROLLED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. TO BE CLEAR, THIS IS NOT JUST RAW DATA. THIS IS THE INNOVATIONS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF SOME OF OUR COUNTRY'S GREATEST MINDS. THE SECOND PART OF THE CAMPAIGN TARGETED AT LEAST 36 PRIVATE SECTOR COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES, AND AT LEAST 11 COMPANIES BASED IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. THE HACKERS TARGETED FIRMS AND COMPANIES ACROSS SECTORS, LAW FIRMS, TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES, CONSULTING COMPANIES, FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS, HEALTH CARE COMPANIES, B IO TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES AND OTHERS. ONCE THEY GAINED ACCESS, THE DEFENDANTS STOLE ENTIRE EMAIL INBOXES FROM THE VICTIMS AND SET UP ACCOUNTS IS SECRETLY FORWARD ALL NEW EMAILS. THE THIRD AND TROUBLING PART OF THE HACKING CAMPAIGN TARGETED U.S. GOVERNMENT AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS. AMONG THE VICTIMS, THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, THE UNITED NATIONS, AND DEFEND THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION. THAT IS THE AGENCY THAT REGULATES THE INTERSTATE TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICITY, NATURAL GAS, AND OIL. THAT AGENCY HAS DETAILS OF SOME OF THESE – THIS COUNTRY'S MOST SENSITIVE INFRASTRUCTURE. WE BELIEVE ALL NINE DEFENDANTS ARE CURRENTLY IN IRAN, AND IVAN MESSAGE FOR THEM AND TO OTHERS THAT ATTEMPT TO HARM OUR COUNTRY THROUGH CYBER ASSAULTS. WE HAVE WORKED TIRELESSLY TO IDENTIFY YOU, AND YOU CANNOT HIDE BEHIND A KEYBOARD HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD AND EXPECT NOT TO BE HELD TO ACCOUNT. TOGETHER, ALONG WITH OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS, WE WILL WORK RELENTLESSLY AND CREATIVELY TO APPLY THE LEGAL TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL TO UNMASK AND CHARGE YOU. WE WILL DO ALL WE CAN TO BRING YOU TO JUSTICE. WHILE THE DEFENDANTS REMAIN AT LARGE, THEY ARE NOW FUGITIVES FROM THE AMERICAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM. THESE DEFENDANTS ARE NO LONGER FREE TO TRAVEL OUTSIDE OF IRAN WITHOUT THE FEAR OF BEING ARRESTED AND EXTRADITED TO THE UNITED STATES. THEY CANNOT LEAVE IRAN TO CONDUCT BUSINESS. THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN SEE THE REST OF THE WORLD IS THROUGH THEIR COMPUTER SCREEN, BUT NOW STRIPPED OF THE GREATEST ASSET – THEIR GREATEST ASSET–ANONYMITY. DO NOT FORGET, AT THE CRUX OF THIS CASE IS THE FACT THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN SYSTEMATICALLY AND METHODICALLY HACKED INTO OUR COUNTRY'S COMPUTER NETWORKS WITH THE INTENT TO STEAL AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE. BUT AS CLEVER AS THESE ALLEGED CRIMINALS THOUGHT THEY WERE, THEY WERE ULTIMATELY DETECTED AND DEFINED BY THE MOST SOPHISTICATED, CAPABLE, AND ADVANCED LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE WORLD. IN THAT REGARD, I WANT TO T HANK THE FBI REPRESENTED HERE BY DEPUTY DIRECTOR DAVID BOWDICH, AND OUR GOOD FRIEND BILL SWEENEY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE OF THE NEW YORK FIELD OFFICE OF THE FBI. THEIR WORK IN THIS CASE HAS BEEN EXTRAORDINARY, AND WE ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE THEM AS PARTNERS. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE PROSECUTORS IN MY OFFICE WHO INVESTIGATED AND PROSECUTED THIS CASE. I WANT TO THANK OUR CRIMINAL DIVISION CHIEF FOR HER LEADERSHIP AND EXCELLENCE SUPERVISION OF THIS CASE. I WANT TO THANK THE CO-HEA D OF THE COMPLEX FRAUD AND CYBERCRIME UNIT, TIMOTHY HOWARD, WHO HAS GREATER EXPERTISE AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE ART OF CYBERCRIME, AND WHO SPEARHEADED THIS INFORMATION AND PROSECUTION. MR. HOWARD WAS A BULLY ASSISTED – A BULLY –ABLEY ASSISTED BY – AND JONATHAN COHEN. I WOULD LIKE TO THINK MIKE FERRARA, WHO SUPERVISED THE CASE. IT IS A PRIVILEGE AND QUITE HUMBLING TO BE WORKING ALONGSIDE SUCH TALENTED AND DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVANTS. I WOULD NOW LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE NEXT SPEAKER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR DAVID BOWDICH. MR. BOW
DICH: THANK YOU. THE MONEY. AS MR. BERMAN – GOOD MORNING. MR. BERMAN MENTIONED, I AM DAVID BOWDICH. IF I COULD, I WOULD HAVE ALL THE FBI AGENTS AND ANALYSTS CERTAINLY FROM THE NEW YORK FIELD OFFICE AND AROUND THE GLOBE THAT ASSISTED WITH THIS INVESTIGATION. I WOULD HAVE THEM HERE TO SHOW THEM THE APPRECIATION FOR ALL THE WORK AND TIRELESS MAN HOURS THEY PUT INTO THIS INVESTIGATION – NIGHTS, WEEKENDS, AS WELL AS THE PROSECUTORS. THE FBI IS CHARGED WITH DEFENDING THE UNITED STATES AGAINST A FULL RANGE OF CYBER CRIMES. WE FACE CYBER THREATS FROM HACKERS FOR HIRE, ORGANIZED CYBER SYNDICATES, AND STATE-SPONSORED HACKERS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE INDICTED TODAY. STATE-SPONSORED HACKERS STEAL GOVERNMENT SECRETS, TRADE SECRETS, TECHNOLOGY, AND IDEAS FOR MILITARY AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. THE INDIVIDUALS WE ARE INVITING TODAY WERE LEADERS, CONTRACTORS, ASSOCIATES, HACKERS FOR HIRE, OR AFFILIATES OF THE PARLIAMENT – PRIVATE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR BASED IN IRAN. THEY ENGAGED IN HACKING AT THE BEHEST OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CORPS. THROUGH A THREE-YOUR CAMPAIGN, THEY COMPROMISED APPROXIMATELY144 U.S.-BASED UNIVERSITIES AND 176 FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES IN 21 COUNTRIES. THEY TARGETED MORE THAN 100 20. – MORE THAN 120,000 ACCOUNTS AND WERE ABLE TO COVER MICE MORE THAN 8000 ACCOUNTS. SCOURING RESEARCH AND PERSONAL INFORMATION WAS ACCESSED AND EXPLOITED. IN THE END, THE INFORMATION RETRIEVED DURING THE COURSE OF THIS INVESTIGATION COST THE U.S.-BASED INSTITUTIONS APPROXIMATELY $3.4 BILLION. THIS MEANS PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRIES WERE PAID FOR SERVICES WHEN NATION STATE ACTORS WERE CONSUMING FOR FREE. IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERING, THEY ARE NOT ADMIRING OUR WORK. THEY ARE STEALING IT, TAKING CREDIT FOR IT, AND SELLING IT TO OTHERS. THEY ALSO TARGETED AND COMPROMISED YOU MAIL ACCOUNTS FOR ROUGHLY 36 U.S.-BASED PRIVATE COMPANIES AND 11 COMPANIES OF OVERSEAS USING A MASSIVE PASSWORD ATTACK AND A LOW AND SLOW STYLE OF FORCE ATTACK THAT FLIES UNDER THE RADAR OF MANY OF USED BY COMPANIES. THEY TARGETED AND COVER MY FEMALE ACCOUNTS FOR VARIOUS GOVERNMENT AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDING THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, THE STATES OF HAWAII AND INDIANA, AND EVEN THE UNITED NATIONS. WHEN WE LEARNED OF THESE ATTACKS, WE NOTIFIED THE VICTIMS SO THEY CAN TAKE ACTION TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT. WE TOOK ACTION TO FIND AND STOP THESE HACKERS. SOME MAY ASK WHY WOULD YOU PURSUE PEOPLE YOU MAY NEVER GET YOUR HANDS ON. TRUE, IT PREVENTS THAT PRESENTS A CHALLENGE, BUT IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
DO WE HAVE A BAKER?