The Department of Justice announced Thursday that it had indicted three Iranian nationals for “allegedly orchestrating a scheme to hack into the computer networks of multiple U.S. victims.”

The three men are accused of, between October 2020 and the present, seeking to hack hundreds of victims in several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, and Iran itself. All three were charged with one count of conspiring to commit computer fraud and related activity in connection with computers; one count of intentionally damaging a protected computer; and one count of transmitting a demand in relation to damaging a protected computer. One of the three was hit with an additional charge of intentionally damaging a protected computer.

Per a CNBC report, the three men are all affiliated with the  Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, although the crimes were not done at the behest of the government.

Sanctions have also been placed on the men by the State Department and Treasury Department. But they remain at large, and bringing them to justice is likely a tall order.

“The Government of Iran has created a safe haven where cyber criminals acting for personal gain flourish and defendants like these are able to hack and extort victims, including critical infrastructure providers,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said in the government’s announcement. “This indictment makes clear that even other Iranians are less safe because their own government fails to follow international norms and stop Iranian cyber criminals.”

The government also listed the places that the three men are believed to have hacked: “An accounting firm based in Illinois; a regional electric utility company based in Mississippi; a regional electric utility company based in Indiana; a public housing corporation in the State of Washington; a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Pennsylvania; a County government in Wyoming; a construction company located in the State of Washington that was engaged in work on critical infrastructure projects; and a state bar association.”

“The FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to work with our U.S. government partners for the purpose of imposing cost on our adversaries,” Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division, said in the government’s release. “This indictment, when coupled with other disruptive operational activities, demonstrates what’s possible when we team up with our domestic and international partners and take a whole-of-government approach. We, along with our partners, remain dedicated to protecting the United States of America and the victims affected by these egregious crimes.”

Back in August, the government charged a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with plotting an assassination attempt on former National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters.