Montenegrin police, in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, arrested a 39-year-old Iranian national in the coastal town of Kotor on Thursday for allegedly executing a massive cyberattack campaign that caused $3.4 billion in damages to U.S. infrastructure. The suspect, who holds dual Iranian and Turkish citizenship, was detained following an international warrant and faces extradition to the United States.
According to a statement from the Montenegrin police directorate, the individual allegedly conducted large-scale cyberattacks from 2013 onward. The campaigns targeted more than 150 American universities, compromising thousands of accounts to illicitly acquire intellectual property, research papers, and proprietary data.
The suspect is wanted by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit computer fraud, hacking, and identity theft. Authorities stated that the stolen information and network credentials directly benefited Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and state-affiliated universities.
Extradition proceedings will be handled by a High Court judge in the capital city of Podgorica. Montenegro, a NATO member and U.S. ally, has actively collaborated with Western intelligence agencies to counter foreign state-sponsored cyber operations.
