The Justice Department says three Iranian citizens have been charged in the United States with cyberattacks that targeted power companies, local governments and small businesses and nonprofits, including a domestic violence shelter.

The charges accuse the hacking suspects of targeting hundreds of victims in the U.S. and other countries, including United Kingdom, Israel, Russia and even Iran, officials said. The suspects are accused of stealing data from their networks and demanding ransom payments to unlock and return the stolen information.

"The defendants are accused of exploiting known or publicly disclosed vulnerabilities in commonly used network devices and software programs," a senior Justice Department official told reporters. "To get access to victims' computer networks, they would commonly exfiltrate data from those systems."

The case was filed in federal court in New Jersey, where a municipality in Union County was hacked last year.

The three accused hackers are thought to be in Iran and have not been arrested, but a Justice Department official said Wednesday the charges make it “functionally impossible” for them to leave the country.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.