U.S. designates 6 senior IRGC officials for cyber-attacks
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The United States designated on Friday six officials of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber–Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC) for a series of cyber-attacks against the U.S. and other states.
The U.S. Department of State announced in a statement the designation of the head of IRGC-CEC, “an organization that has been responsible for a series of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in the United States and other countries, and five of its senior officials.”
The statement pointed out that this particular operation did not disrupt any critical services, adding, “Cyber operations that intentionally damage or impair the operation of critical infrastructure are destabilizing and potentially escalatory.”
This action was taken by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) pursuant to the counterterrorism authority Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended.
Moreover, the Treasury stated, “Iranian cyber actors previously committed and attempted malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure.”
These actors were also responsible for “similar malicious cyber activity targeting European countries and Israel,” according to OFAC.
Hamid Reza Lashgarian is the head of the IRGC-CEC, and is also a commander in the IRGC-Qods Force. Hamid Reza Lashgarian has been involved in various IRGC cyber and intelligence operations, according to the statement.
Mahdi Lashgarian, Hamid Homayunfal, Milad Mansuri, Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar, and Reza Mohammad Amin Saberian are also senior officials of the IRGC-CEC.