The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has recently taken decisive action by sanctioning four Iranian nationals due to their involvement in cyberattacks against U.S. government entities, defense contractors, and private sector companies. These sanctions are part of a broader effort to combat the cyber threats posed by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC), which has been actively coordinating these cyber warfare campaigns. The sanctioned individuals, while associated with IRGC-CEC front companies Mehrsam Andisheh Saz Nik (MASN) and Dadeh Afzar Arman (DAA), have played significant roles in orchestrating attacks that include spear phishing campaigns targeted at various U.S. organizations.
Two of the individuals, Alireza Shafie Nasab and Reza Kazemifar Rahman, were specifically employed by MASN and participated in attacks targeting U.S. organizations. Kazemifar was notably involved in spear phishing campaigns against the U.S. Department of the Treasury itself. Another sanctioned individual, Hosein Mohammad Harooni, engaged in similar tactics targeting the Treasury Department among other U.S. entities, utilizing spear phishing and various social engineering techniques to carry out his objectives. The fourth, Komeil Baradaran Salmani, was linked to attacks coordinated through both MASN and DAA, demonstrating the interconnected nature of these front companies within IRGC-CEC’s operations.
As a result of these sanctions, all assets and interests in the United States connected to these individuals and their associated companies have been frozen, and all transactions involving these entities are now prohibited without specific authorization from OFAC. Furthermore, any entities owned 50% or more by these sanctioned individuals are also subject to these restrictions. This action aims to disrupt the financial resources supporting these cyber operations and limit their ability to conduct further attacks.
In tandem with the sanctions, the U.S. State Department has launched a Rewards for Justice program, offering up to $10 million for information that leads to further understanding or disruption of these cyber operations. This program underscores the serious nature of the threat and the U.S. government’s commitment to thwarting IRGC-CEC’s activities. Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department has unsealed indictments against these individuals, detailing their involvement in a cyber campaign that targeted more than a dozen American companies and various government departments from 2016 to 2021. These legal actions represent a comprehensive approach by the U.S. to address and deter Iranian cyber threats effectively.
