Lubna Nissani

TESAA WORLD

In a new escalation of cyber tensions between Washington and Tehran, the U.S. State Department announced a financial reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of two Iranians accused by the United States of carrying out cyber attacks targeting critical infrastructure both domestically and abroad.

The reward, part of the "Rewards for Justice" program, included photos of Fatemeh Sadeghian Kashi and Mohammad Bagher Shirin Kar, who are attributed to the "Martyr Shushtari" group linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's intelligence service. The U.S. State Department clarified that the two, "under the direction of a foreign government and in violation of computer fraud and abuse laws," were involved in a campaign of cyber attacks against vital sectors including media, maritime transport, energy, financial services, and communications in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

The State Department noted that the "Martyr Shushtari" group had previously operated under multiple names, including: Arya Sepehr Ayandeh Sazan, Ayandeh Sazan Sepehr Arya, Ayman Net Basargad, Elyant Gaster, and Net Bigard Samavat, confirming that it is an electronic unit under the cyber command of the Revolutionary Guard.

This step is considered part of the ongoing cyber shadow war between the United States and Iran for over a decade, which began in 2010 with the discovery of the Stuxnet virus and continued with exchanges of hacking operations targeting government institutions, oil and energy companies, and sensitive infrastructure. Washington accuses Tehran of cyber attacks on American banks, water facilities, and transportation and energy companies, while Iran asserts that its nuclear and industrial facilities have faced similar attacks, most notably the attack on the Natanz facility in 2021.

This announcement comes at a time when American concerns are rising over the expansion of Iran's cyber capabilities and its increasing targeting of critical U.S. and allied infrastructure.