Suspected Iranian Hacker Extradited in $3.4B Case

Amir Barati, a 40-year-old Iranian-Turkish dual national, was extradited from Montenegro to the United States to face charges tied to an alleged cyber campaign that began in 2013. U.S. prosecutors accuse him and 16 others linked to Iran’s Mabna Institute of targeting universities, companies and other organizations, stealing academic research and intellectual property, and breaching about 8,000 professors’ email accounts. The indictment alleges the campaign targeted 144 U.S. universities and 42 U.S. companies, with the value of the academic material sought estimated at $3.4 billion. Barati is accused of tracking university hacks and helping develop target lists for attacks on private-sector organizations; prosecutors say the broader operation benefited Iranian entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His extradition is unusual because people accused of state-linked Iranian cyber operations rarely face prosecution in U.S. courts.