Former US Air Force officer faces spying charge after defecting to Iran
Agent allegedly compiled dossiers on military intelligence officials for Iranian hackers
Washington — US authorities charged former Air Force intelligence officer Monica Witt on Wednesday with helping Iran launch a cyberspying operation that targeted her former colleagues after she defected from the US. The US justice department said Witt, 39, assembled dossiers on eight US military intelligence agents she had worked with for Iranian hackers, who then used Facebook and e-mail to try to install spyware on their computers. She defected to Iran in 2013 and presumably still lives there, US officials said. “She decided to turn against the United States and shift her loyalty to Iran,” said Jay Tabb, the FBI’s executive assistant director for national security. “Her primary motivation appears to be ideological.” Washington also charged four Iranian nationals who it said were involved in the cyberattacks.
US officials also imposed sanctions on an Iranian firm, Net Peygard Samavat Company, it said conducted the hacking operation, and Iranian events company, New Horizon Org...
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