1st Ld-Writethru: U.S. charges 7 Iranians on cyber attack allegations

U.S. Justice Department on Thursday charged seven Iranians over cyber attacks on banks and a dam in New York from 2011 to 2013.

"A federal grand jury in Manhattan found that these seven individuals conspired together, and with others, to conduct a series of cyber attacks against civilian targets in the United States financial industry that, in all, cost victims tens of millions of dollars," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a press conference.

Between late 2011 and mid-2013, 46 financial institutions in the United States suffered large-scale and coordinated cyber attacks, said Lynch.

In addition, one of the defendants is also charged with illegally obtaining access to the supervisory control and data acquisition system of the Bowman Dam in Rye, New York.

At the time of the alleged intrusion, the dam was undergoing maintenance and had been disconnected from the system. Endi