- Montenegro's High Court approved extradition of an Iran-linked hacker to the United States, justice minister Bojan Bozovic said.
- Suspect is a 39-year-old Iranian-Turkish national arrested in late June in the coastal town of Kotor.
- He was detained in a joint operation with the FBI on charges including cyber and organized crime, fraud, hacking and identity theft.
- Police say the hacking targeted about 150 universities since 2013 and used compromised accounts for malicious purposes.
- Authorities estimate the damage could exceed $3.4 billion and allege stolen data benefited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian universities.
An Iranian-linked hacker accused of cyberattacks that caused billions of dollars in damage will be extradited from Montenegro to the United States, the Balkan nation’s justice minister told local media Tuesday.
The 39-year-old Iranian-Turkish national was arrested in late June over “massive hacking attacks” on US infrastructure, including 150 universities since 2013, according to police.
Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic told local media that Podgorica’s High Court had decided to extradite the suspect to the United States.
“The justice ministry has informed the US Department of Justice. Further procedures will be carried out in cooperation with the relevant police services,” Bozovic told the Montenegrin news outlet Vijesti.
Police arrested the man in the coastal town of Kotor as part of a joint operation with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of “cyber and organised crime, fraud, hacking and identity theft”.
At the time authorities estimated the damage from the crimes could exceed $3.4 billion.
In an earlier statement, police said stolen data and compromised university accounts were allegedly used for the “benefit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian beneficiaries, including universities based in Iran“.
