Stunning Iran and Bitcoin (BTC) Decision from the US Treasury Department!

The United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has today sanctioned 10 individuals and two companies associated with a ransomware group found to be linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. bitcoin added wallet addresses to the ban list.

US Treasury Department Bans Bitcoin Addresses Used by Iranian Hacker Groups

According to the department, individuals and organizations added to the government’s sanctions list have participated in coordinated ransomware attacks targeting many United States-based companies and organizations since at least 2020.

Ransomware is a type of attack in which hackers exploit software vulnerabilities to remotely lock a computer or network and then demand payment to unlock access.

Often these payments are like Bitcoin, which, despite its transparency, can be more difficult to track than other digital payment methods. cryptocurrency performed with networks.

Treasury officials claim the Iranian group’s American targets include a children’s hospital, a New Jersey municipality, a rural power company and a number of other businesses.

These individuals are identified as employees or partners of Najee Technology Hooshmand Fater LLC and Afkar System Yazd Company.

With the inclusion of these attackers and their business entities on the OFAC sanctions list, American citizens and companies are prohibited from interacting with them. This includes Bitcoin wallet addresses listed with the names of their alleged owners.

Beyond the OFAC sanctions, the Treasury also said that three individuals, Mansour Ahmadi, Ahmad Khatibi Aghda, and Amir Hossein Nikaeen Ravari, were indicted by the US District Attorney for the District of New Jersey in connection with the ransomware attack.

The state of New Jersey is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information related to these individuals.

*Not investment advice.