US indicts seven Iranians over hacking banks, dam

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (L-R), Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch hold a news conference to announce indictments on Iranian hackers for a coordinated campaign of cyber attacks in 2012 and 2013 on several U.S. banks and a New York dam, at the Justice Department in Washington March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON: The United States announced computer hacking charges against seven Iranians working for firms linked to the Iranian government, accusing them of infiltrating dozens of American banks and a major New York dam. 

The hacking of nearly 50 banks and financial institutions from 2011 to 2013 saw the organisations lose tens of millions of dollars in remediation costs and the dam attack could have imperilled public health, prosecutors said.