Banks, dam targeted by Iranian hackers, US says; 7 charged

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. charged seven hackers linked to the Iranian government with executing large-scale coordinated cyberattacks on dozens of banks as well as a small dam outside New York City — intrusions that law enforcement officials said reached into America's infrastructure, disrupted the nation's financial system and cost tens of millions.

Indictments announced Thursday by the Justice Department show a determination by overseas hackers to cripple vital American interests, officials said, and marked the first time the FBI attributed a breach of a U.S. computer system that controls critical infrastructure to a hacker linked to a foreign government.

The Justice Department in May 2014 indicted five Chinese military officials suspected of hacking into several major American companies, including U.S. Steel and Westinghouse, and stealing trade secrets.

The criminal case comes amid warming relations between the U.S. and Iran following last year's nuclear agreement.

Since rolling back its nuclear program this year, Iran has regained access to some $100 billion in overseas assets and the two countries' top diplomats have been meeting and discussing global matters at their most intensive level since Iran's 1979 overthrow of the U.S.-backed shah.

In December, hackers linked to Russia used a coordinated attack to take down part of Ukraine's power grid, blacking out more than 225,000 people after hitting regional electric power distribution companies.