U.S. State Department Offers $10M Reward for Information on Iranian Cyber Unit Leaders
The U.S. State Department has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the capture of Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar and Fatemeh Sedighian Kashi, who are allegedly involved in cyber operations under Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command. This unit, known as Shahid Shushtari, has been implicated in cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure across various sectors, including news, shipping, travel, energy, financial, and telecom, in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. The group, also known as Emennet Pasargad, has undergone several name changes and is tracked by the Google Threat Intelligence Group as UNC5866. The unit has been active since 2018 and has been involved in influence operations, including attempts to interfere with the 2020 U.S. presidential election.