A group of hackers linked to Iran accessed the email account of the director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, and posted his personal photos online, the American press reported on Friday, the 27th.
The American television channel CNN, the Associated Press news agency, and other outlets indicated, citing sources close to the case, that the attack on Patel’s email was claimed by Handala Hack Team, a group of pro-Iran cybercriminals.
According to CNN, the stolen emails include personal, business, and travel correspondences, and appear to date from 2011 to 2022, before Patel was named FBI director by President Donald Trump.
Among the materials disclosed by Handala, there were personal photos of the official, including images of him smoking cigars and posing with an antique car.
“Kash Patel, the current head of the FBI, whose name has already been proudly displayed at the agency’s headquarters, will now see his name on the list of victims of successful cyberattacks,” read a message posted on Friday by the Handala group.
The FBI confirmed in a statement that “malicious actors” had attacked Patel’s personal email information.
It also stated that “all necessary measures have been taken to mitigate the possible risks associated with this activity”.
Handala claimed the breach of Patel’s email on social media, saying it was a response to the FBI’s seizure of domain names that belonged to it.
It was not clear when the cyberattack claimed by Handala had occurred. Reports from December 2024, before Patel was confirmed as director, stated that the current director had been informed by the FBI that he had been the target of an Iranian cyberattack.
The FBI and the Department of Justice announced last week the seizure of four website domains that were allegedly used by hackers linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security. Among the seized domains were two that were allegedly used by Handala.
The sites were used for “targeted psychological operations against regime adversaries,” to publish stolen data, and “to call for the assassination of journalists, regime dissidents, and Israeli citizens,” the Department of Justice said at the time.
The State Department, in turn, offered a reward of up to US$10 million (R$52.35 million) for information leading to the identification of members of the hacker group. (With International Agencies)
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