UANI Applauds Biden Administration For Sanctioning IRGC-Linked Cyber Criminals

(New York, N.Y.) — United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace released the following statement today in response to U.S. sanctions being applied against ten individuals and two entities that were determined to have roles in criminal and malicious cyber activity associated with intrusion sets involving “Nemesis Kitten,” “Phosphorus,” “Tunnel Vision,” “APT 25,” and “Charming Kitten” – the latter of which launched a series of cyberattacks against UANI in November 2021. Each of the individuals and entities are affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

“UANI applauds the Biden Administration for acting against a dozen individuals and entities directly linked to the IRGC and responsible for ransomware incidents and cybercrimes. The Iranian regime uses cyber operations primarily for intelligence gathering, influence operations, and attacks against critical infrastructure, but it has also created permissive environments for individual hackers to target U.S. entities, like a domestic violence shelter in Pennsylvania. The Biden Administration’s actions are appropriate, timely, and important steps in helping to deter Iran’s dangerous behavior.

“UANI is particularly grateful for the Biden Administration’s actions against ‘APT35,’ also known as ‘Charming Kitten,’ which has targeted UANI personnel. Those responsible managed to procure data outside of the public realm, impersonated our leadership in communications with former senior officials of the U.S. government, and attempted to harvest private email credentials. Their efforts were thwarted.

“While we are gratified by today’s announcement, we urge the Biden Administration to continue its investigations into Iran’s malicious cyber activity and enhance security cooperation with U.S. persons, friends, and allies.” 

To read UANI’s resource The Iranian Cyber Threat, please click here. 

###