US Links Six Individuals to $6 Million HBO Bitcoin Ransom Attempt

US prosecutors have expanded an eight-year-old hacking case tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, adding eight defendants and linking six of them to the 2017 HBO breach.

The breach included a $6 million Bitcoin extortion attempt, with hackers demanding $5.5 million initially before increasing their demand to roughly $6 million.

Prosecutors allege that the Mabna Institute, an Iran-based company, carried out cyber intrusions on behalf of the IRGC and other clients.

The Justice Department has unsealed a 14-count second superseding indictment charging 17 people connected to Mabna, up from nine defendants named in the original case in 2018.