{
  "id": 1800581,
  "title": "US Justice Department targets Iranian institute for activity linked to IRGC",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/us-justice-department-targets-iranian-institute-for-activity-linked",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T21:01:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Middle East Eye",
    "slug": "middle-east-eye",
    "url": "https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-justice-department-targets-iranian-institute-activity-linked-irgc"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The US Justice Department has indicted 17 individuals associated with Iran's Mabna Institute on charges of engaging in cyber activities on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other Iranian entities. According to the Department, the Mabna Institute was involved in a \"widespread cyber campaign\" that targeted over 100,000 accounts belonging to university professors across the globe, resulting in the theft of more than 31 terabytes of academic and intellectual property data, as well as email accounts of employees. This campaign affected 144 US universities, 178 foreign universities, at least 42 US companies, 11 foreign companies, five US federal and local government agencies, and two non-governmental organizations, leading to costs exceeding $20 million, as stated in the DoJ's announcement.",
  "summary": "US Justice Department targets Iranian institute for activity linked to IRGC The US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced charges on Tuesday against 17 members of Iran’s Mabna Institute for cyber activity and hacking “carried out on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other Iranian entities”. In a statement, the Department said Mabna Institute was involved in “a widespread…",
  "key_points": [
    "US Justice Department indicted 17 individuals linked to Mabna Institute",
    "Mabna Institute involved in cyber campaign targeting 100k+ accounts",
    "Campaign affected universities, companies, government agencies"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}