Mabna Institute campaign expands across multiple victims
Campaign
Summary
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A state-sponsored campaign tied to Mabna Institute and the IRGC compromised roughly 8,000 professor accounts and enabled theft of research and proprietary data across universities, businesses, and government institutions. The operation began around 2013 and reached more than 100,000 professors worldwide. It created large-scale exposure of academic and intellectual-property material, with reported losses valued at about $3.4 billion. The same operation also included extortion activity against at least one high-profile victim.
Related Happenings
DoJ charges Mabna Institute-linked Iranian hackers
Law Enforcement
H score68
First: 19.08.2026 18:56
Last: 19.08.2026 18:56
Sources 1
How related:
The U.S. has charged 17 Iranians, alleged members of a hacking-for-hire company called Mabna Institute, involved in years-long operations that stole data from American organizations.
About this happening:
The U.S. Justice Department charged 17 Iranians tied to Mabna Institute, escalating a cross-border cybercrime case centered on long-running theft of data from Amer...
DoJ charges Mabna Institute-linked Iranian hackers
Law EnforcementHow related: The U.S. has charged 17 Iranians, alleged members of a hacking-for-hire company called Mabna Institute, involved in years-long operations that stole data from American organizations.
About this happening: The U.S. Justice Department charged 17 Iranians tied to Mabna Institute, escalating a cross-border cybercrime case centered on long-running theft of data from Amer...
North Korean remote IT worker scam operation targeting American companies
Campaign
H score41
First: 16.04.2026 19:00
Last: 16.04.2026 19:00
Sources 1
About this happening:
A long-running North Korean remote IT worker scam operation used stolen identities and fake placements to embed operators inside more than 100 American companies. The...
North Korean remote IT worker scam operation targeting American companies
CampaignAbout this happening: A long-running North Korean remote IT worker scam operation used stolen identities and fake placements to embed operators inside more than 100 American companies. The...
Kejia Wang and Zhenxing Wang sentencing in DPRK IT worker fraud case
Law Enforcement
H score33
First: 16.04.2026 11:32
Last: 16.04.2026 11:32
Sources 1
About this happening:
A court sentenced Kejia Wang and Zhenxing Wang to prison for helping run a DPRK-linked remote IT worker fraud scheme. The operation used stolen identities, fake websites, shell co...
Kejia Wang and Zhenxing Wang sentencing in DPRK IT worker fraud case
Law EnforcementAbout this happening: A court sentenced Kejia Wang and Zhenxing Wang to prison for helping run a DPRK-linked remote IT worker fraud scheme. The operation used stolen identities, fake websites, shell co...
Latest development: 16.04.2026 19:00
The US Justice Department announced sentences of 108 months for Kejia Wang and 92 months for Zhenxing Wang for helping run a DPRK remote IT worker scheme that used stolen identities of at least 80 American citizens to deceive more than 100 American companies, generate more than $5m for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and enable access to sensitive data and source code from victim firms; the operation used home addresses to receive laptops and gave overseas IT workers in North Korea remote access.
Timeline
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19.08.2026 18:56 2 articles · 2h ago
U.S. charges 17 Iranians tied to Mabna Institute
Campaign Scope UpdateThe U.S. charged 17 Iranians tied to Mabna Institute and said the years-long operation began around 2013, targeted more than 100,000 professors worldwide, compromised roughly 8,000 accounts, and enabled theft of 31.5 terabytes of academic data valued at about $3.4 billion from universities, businesses, and government institutions; the Justice Department and State Department also announced rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the whereabouts of five defendants.
Show sources
- US charges Iranian hackers over $3.4 billion intellectual property theft — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 19.08.2026 18:56
- US charges Iranian hackers over $3.4 billion intellectual property theft — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 19.08.2026 18:56