Up to $10M bounty placed for CyberAv3ngers-linked hacker

The U.S. State Department has offered up to $10 million in bounties for any information that would help locate or identify the Iranian hacker Mr. Soul, also known as Mr. Soll, linked to the state-sponsored CyberAv3ngers hacking operation, which has compromised critical infrastructure entities, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

"CyberAv3ngers actors have utilized malware known as IOCONTROL to target [Industrial Control Systems/Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (ICS/SCADA)] devices used by critical infrastructure sectors in the United States and worldwide," said the State Department. Such a reward notice comes amid intensifying military operations between Israel and Iran, which Google Threat Intelligence Group Chief Analyst John Hultquist said could lead to more expansive Iranian cyber operations. "Targets in the United States could be reprioritized for action by Iran's cyber threat capability. Iranian cyber espionage activity already targets the U.S. government, military, and political set, but new activity may threaten privately owned critical infrastructure, or even private individuals," said Hultquist.