Hackers linked to the Iranian government have hacked into the personal email account of FBI Director Kash Patel and published a series of his personal photos and more than 300 emails. The agency has confirmed the breach.
Points of attention
- Iranian government hackers successfully breached FBI Director Kash Patel's personal email account, leaking private photos and over 300 emails.
- The Handala Hack Team, purportedly a pro-Palestinian group but believed to be an Iranian cyber unit, claimed responsibility for the cyberattack.
Patel's email hack: what's known
The Handala Hack Team group claimed responsibility for the cyberattack, noting on its website that Patel "will now find his name on the list of victims whose accounts were successfully hacked."
In particular, among the published materials is a series of private photos in which Patel "sniffs and smokes cigars, drives in a vintage convertible and takes selfies in the mirror with a large bottle of rum."
Hackers also leaked over 300 emails dating from 2010-2019, likely containing both personal and work information.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the emails, but District 4 Labs, a darknet intelligence firm, found that the Gmail address provided by the hackers matched Patel's address, which had appeared in previous data leaks.
FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson confirmed that Patel's personal email was indeed hacked.
We have taken all necessary measures to mitigate the potential risks associated with this activity, and that the data is of a historical nature and does not include government information.
The Handala Hack Team positions itself as a pro-Palestinian hacking group, but Western researchers believe it is one of the names used by the Iranian government's cyber intelligence units. The same group recently claimed to have hacked the American medical company Stryker in Michigan, in particular, the hackers claim to have deleted "a significant amount of the company's data."
The US has announced a reward for information on Iranian hackers after FBI Director Kash Patel's email was hacked.
A reward of up to $10 million is offered for information about the hackers.
If you have information about malicious Iranian cybercriminals such as Parsian Afzar, Rayan, Borna, Khandala, or related groups or individuals, please contact us and provide any information such as names, online aliases, and locations.
The department specified that these individuals are involved in "malicious cyber activity directed against critical US infrastructure."
