The U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $10 million for information concerning Amir Yaryab, an Iranian official whom the U.S. says is connected to malicious cyber activity aimed at U.S. critical infrastructure. The Amir Yaryab $10 million reward is conditional, not a blanket payment: the program says information must lead to the identification or location of a qualifying person.
According to the government’s notice, the offer applies to information about a person acting at the direction of, or under the control of, a foreign government who participates in malicious cyber activity against U.S. critical infrastructure in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
The notice specifically seeks information on Yaryab, whom it identifies as a senior official in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command, or IRGC-CEC. The U.S. says Yaryab leads that command’s Cyber Operations Command.
What does the Amir Yaryab reward cover?
The stated standard is narrower than a general reward for information about Iranian hacking. Rewards for Justice says a tip must concern a person involved in foreign-government-directed malicious cyber activity against U.S. critical infrastructure and must lead to that person’s identification or location.
The official notice includes a link to Rewards for Justice tip-submission options. It does not establish that a reward will be paid for every submission or specify a payment for information about Yaryab alone.
Which groups does the U.S. connect to Yaryab?
In the notice, the U.S. alleges that Yaryab directs Shahid Hemmat and Shahid Shushtari. It says those groups conducted cyber and cyber-enabled information operations against defense, news, shipping, travel, energy, financial and telecommunications sectors in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
The government also says Yaryab oversees and controls operations conducted by CyberAv3ngers, Dadeh Afzar Arman, known as DAA, and Mehrsam Andisheh Saz Nik, or MASN. According to the notice, those groups used malware against civilian infrastructure worldwide.
- Yaryab is named as the subject of the information request.
- The listed reward ceiling is $10 million.
- The program ties eligibility to information leading to identification or location under the terms it sets out.
The allegations are those of the U.S. government. The available material includes no response from Yaryab or Iranian authorities, no charging document, and no independent technical evidence connecting him to particular incidents.
CyberAv3ngers has separately been accused of attacks on water utilities in 2023 and 2024, according to The Record. The outlet also reported that the State Department offered another $10 million reward in the prior year for Iranian hackers it said were behind that group. Those earlier allegations and reward are distinct from the current notice naming Yaryab.
This story draws on original reporting from The Record.
