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.
Reuters writes about this.
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 a vintage convertible and takes selfies in the mirror with a large bottle of rum.” The hackers also leaked more than 300 emails dating from 2010-2019, which likely contain 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 historical in nature and does not include government information,” Williamson said.
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.”