US charges seven Iranian hackers over cyber-attacks on banks

Department of Justice indicts hackers linked to Iran government for disrupting computer systems in first shift in US-Iranian relations since nuclear treaty

The US Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment against seven Iranian hackers, charging them with disrupting computer systems at American banks and a small dam north of New York between 2011 and 2013, accusing the men of working on behalf of the Iranian government.

The allegations mark a shift in US-Iranian relations after a relative detente as the two countries negotiated a nuclear treaty. News reports have long linked the attacks to the Islamic Republic, and though the indictment against the men has been sitting on Justice Department shelves for more than a year it was unsealed partly due to congressional pressure, people familiar with the case said.