Rewards for Justice is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, participates in malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
Amir Hossein Nickaein Ravari (Nickaein) is wanted for his alleged involvement in a coordinated campaign that compromised hundreds of computer networks across the United States and abroad. Between October 2020 and August 2022, Iranian cyber actors Nickaein, Mansour Ahmadi, and Ahmad Khatibi Aghda allegedly gained unauthorized access to protected networks, exfiltrated data, encrypted computer systems, and extorted victims for ransom, causing damage to and disrupting operations of organizations across multiple sectors, including critical infrastructure, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.
Nickaein has been associated with Iran-based cyber company Afkar System Yazd Co. (Afkar) since at least 2015.