OFAC Sanctions Iranians Involved in Cyber Attacks Against US Infrastructure
Commentary by Steven Lofchie
OFAC sanctioned six officials in the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for a series of cyber attacks against infrastructure in the United States and other countries.
According to OFAC, the Iranian-affiliated cyber actors hacked programmable logic controllers used in industrial control systems for water and other critical infrastructure systems. OFAC warned that although the operation did not disrupt any services, unauthorized access to infrastructure systems can enable actions that harm the public and cause devastating humanitarian consequences.
OFAC said the activity is part of a pattern of cyber operations by Iran against the U.S. and international targets, including ransomware attacks and an attempted operation against Boston Children’s Hospital in 2021.
OFAC designated the individuals pursuant to the counterterrorism authority set out in Executive Order 13224.
Commentary
Given the prevalence of bad actors that want to create harm, and the varying reasons that motivate them, the SEC should really consider whether forcing firms to centralize activities and information in a single technology (i.e., CAT for trading information and cleared repo through FICC) is prudent, even assuming it brings some benefits.