Ex-US Intelligence Agent Charged With Spying and Helping Iranian Hackers

Monica Elfriede Witt, 39, was a former U.S. Air Force
Intelligence Specialist and Special Agent of the Air Force Office
of Special Investigations, who served the Air Force between 1997
and 2008 and Department of Defense (DOD) as a contractor until
2010.

The indictment
states that Witt once held the highest level of Top Secret security
clearance and had access to details of highly classified
counterintelligence operations, real names of sources, and the
identities of U.S. intelligence officers.
^[1]

In February 2012, Witt allegedly traveled to Iran to attend an
all-expenses-paid “Hollywoodism” conference held by the Iranian New
Horizon Organization, which DoJ describes as focused on promoting
anti-U.S. propaganda, and then in 2013, she finally defected to
Iran.

She Leaked Classified Information to Iran

Once settled in Iran, Witt worked actively for the Iranian
government, who provided her with a housing and computer equipment,
and disclosed the code name and classified mission of a U.S.
“Special Access Program” and its specific target.

As part of her work, Witt conducted research about the U.S.
Intelligence Community (USIC) agents she had known and previously
worked with and drafted “target packages” that provided agents
profiles for four Iranian hackers, who were also charged by the
DoJ.

Witt even shared the name of her former fellow U.S. agent, who
is still one active, endangering the agent’s life.

The Iranian hackers then allegedly used that profile information
to send phishing emails and social media messages to Witt’s former
colleagues with malicious links in an attempt to trick US agents
into installing malware, which allowed the hackers to spy on their
computer activities, webcam, and keystrokes.

She Teamed Up With “Game of Thrones” Iranian Hackers

Besides her, the DOJ also charged four Iranian nationals—Mojtaba
Masoumpour, Behzad Mesri,
Hossein Parvar, and Mohamad Paryar—with conspiracy, attempts to
commit computer intrusion and aggravated identity theft for their
role in assisting Witt in targeting her former colleagues.
Mesri is the same Iranian hacker who was charged by the DoJ last
year in connection with cyber attacks against HBO and with leaking
“Game of
Thrones” episodes in 2017.

The authorities said Mesri compromised
multiple user accounts^[4]
belonging to HBO to “repeatedly gain unauthorized access to the
company’s computer servers and steal valuable stolen data including
confidential and proprietary information, financial documents, and
employee contact information.”

Mesri then even attempted to extort HBO for $6
million^[5] to delete the stolen
data.

Mesri, Masampour, and Parvar are also facing sanctions for their
involvement with Net Peygard, according to the U.S. Treasury
Department.

“This case underscores the dangers to our intelligence
professionals and the lengths our adversaries will go to identify
them, expose them, target them, and, in a few rare cases,
ultimately turn them against the nation they swore to protect,”
Assistant Attorney General John Demers said in a statement.

“When our intelligence professionals are targeted or betrayed,
the National Security Division will relentlessly pursue justice
against the wrong-doers.”

^[2][3]