Iranian Hacker Accused in $3 Billion University Data Theft Extradited to the U.S.
Montenegro sent Amir Barati to New York, where he faces wire and computer fraud charges in a case that prosecutors tie to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
An Iranian man accused of taking part in a hacking campaign that breached more than 150 U.S. universities and companies has been extradited from Montenegro to the United States, police in the Balkan country and a person familiar with the case said Thursday. Amir Barati, 40, who holds Iranian and Turkish citizenship, is expected to face wire fraud and computer fraud charges in the Southern District of New York.
Montenegrin police arrested Barati in June at the request of the FBI. He is one of 17 Iranian nationals charged in a superseding indictment unsealed in August, which describes a campaign that began in 2013 and stretched over years. According to the indictment, the hackers broke into about 8,000 email accounts belonging to professors in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. The academic data and intellectual property they targeted cost U.S. universities about $3.4 billion to procure and access, prosecutors say.
Prosecutors allege Barati helped track the progress of the university hacks and helped create "targeting lists" for the private sector. Among the companies breached, according to the Justice Department, were 11 tech firms and two defense contractors. One of the victims was HBO, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN's parent company. Other members of the alleged conspiracy are accused of hacking the Department of Labor, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the United Nations. Prosecutors say many of the intrusions were carried out on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
CNN could not reach a lawyer for Barati. A spokesperson for the Southern District of New York declined to comment on the extradition on Thursday. It is a rare outcome for the Justice Department. Accused Iranian hackers almost never see a U.S. courtroom, because most of them are in Iran, out of reach of U.S. law enforcement. Barati's case reached New York because he was arrested in Montenegro at the FBI's request.
The extradition arrives as the United States is trying to blunt Iranian cyber capabilities during seven months of war with Iran and Israel. Iran's hacking operations give Tehran a way to threaten critical U.S. infrastructure while its conventional forces face American and Israeli strikes. Over the course of the war, Iran has been a key suspect in cyberattacks on U.S. water systems, tank-level readers at gas stations, a major medical device maker, and the private email account of FBI Director Kash Patel.
As in any U.S. criminal case, the charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted. Extradition cases like this one also tend to be slow, with defense lawyers challenging evidence and jurisdiction before a trial can be scheduled.
For investigators, a defendant in custody matters beyond the one case. A suspect who can be questioned, whose devices can be examined and who might cooperate offers a view into how the Iranian operations were organized, who directed them and which targets were chosen. The 16 other defendants named in the August indictment remain at large, and the Justice Department has not said whether Barati has agreed to provide information.
