If general counsel fear their companies are vulnerable to cyberattacks from far afield, they have good reason. An indictment unsealed Friday details how hackers hired by the Iranian government broke into computer systems of at least 36 U.S. companies, including technology firms, banks, media companies and a law firm.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan indicted nine Iranians in the massive cyber theft campaign that also included breaches of the data systems of 176 universities in 22 countries – with 144 of them in the United States.