The person at the center of this case
Multiple U.S. and international universities, government agencies, and private companies
Justice for Multiple U.S. and international universities, government agencies, and private companies — the trail went cold in 2018, but the truth hasn't.
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Where is Gholamreza Rafatnejad currently located within Iran and what is his current status with the Mabna Institute?
What specific proprietary data was stolen from the 144 U.S. universities and how has it been used by Iranian entities?
Are there accomplices or co-conspirators in the Mabna Institute still active in conducting cyber operations against American institutions?
Gholamreza Rafatnejad, a leader of Iran's Mabna Institute, is wanted for orchestrating a massive cyber theft scheme that targeted 144 U.S. universities, 176 foreign universities, and numerous government agencies and private companies to steal proprietary data for the Iranian government. The scheme involved unauthorized computer access, data theft, wire fraud, and identity theft affecting institutions across 21 countries. Rafatnejad remains at large in Iran, and investigators seek information about his whereabouts and any connections to ongoing cyber operations targeting American institutions.
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Beyond the top three above — each detail below could be the thread that pulls this case open.
Has Rafatnejad attempted to contact victims, move funds, or establish new cyber infrastructure since the 2018 indictment?
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Official wording
Conspiracy to Commit Computer Hacking; Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud; Computer Fraud - Unauthorized Access for Private Financial Gain; Wire Fraud; Aggravated Identity Theft Caution: Gholamreza Rafatnejad is wanted for his alleged involvement in criminal activities, including obtaining unauthorized access to computer systems, stealing proprietary data from those systems, and selling that stolen data to Iranian customers such as Iranian universities and the Iranian government. Rafatnejad was a leader of the Mabna Institute , a private government contractor based in the Islamic Republic of Iran that performed this work for the Iranian government, at the behest of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Victims of the scheme included approximately 144 universities in the United States, 176 foreign universities in 21 countries, five federal and state government agencies in the United States, 36 private companies in the United States, 11 foreign private companies, and two international non-governmental organizations. On February 7, 2018, a grand jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York indicted Rafatnejad on computer intrusion, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges, and a federal arrest warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Remarks: Rafatnejad is known to speak Farsi and resides in Iran.
Grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York indicted Rafatnejad on computer intrusion, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges; federal arrest warrant issued