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An Iran-linked hacker wanted in the United States for allegedly causing billions of dollars in damage has been arrested in Montenegro, police said Thursday.
Montenegrin police said they worked with the FBI to arrest 39-year-old Amir Barati, who reportedly holds Iranian and Turkish nationality, in the Adriatic coastal town of Kotor.
Police said Barati was wanted on charges related to cyber and organized crime, fraud, hacking and identity theft.
"Since 2013, as an associate of a legal entity from Iran, he committed massive hacking attacks on U.S. infrastructure, including 150 universities, causing damage estimated to be over $3.4 billion U.S. dollars," police said in a statement.
The stolen data, as well as access to compromised university accounts, were used for the benefit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) and other Iranian users, including universities based in Iran, the statement said.
Police said Barati carried out large-scale hacking attacks targeting more than 150 universities in the United States.
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Iran and the IRGC have a long history of state-sponsored cyber operations targeting the United States.
In April, U.S. cybersecurity, law enforcement and intelligence agencies warned of an escalation in Iranian hacking campaigns targeting equipment across critical U.S. infrastructure.
The case will now go before a high court judge in Montenegro's capital, Podgorica, for extradition proceedings, police said.
Barati is expected to appear in court in Podgorica in connection with his extradition to the United States.
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