A hacker group linked to the Iranian regime broke into an email account linked to FBI Director Kash Patel and published several personal materials, including photos and documents, a Justice Department source confirmed to Reuters this Friday (27).
A preliminary analysis by CNN revealed that the stolen information appears to date from 2011 to 2022 and includes Patel’s personal and business correspondence. There is no evidence so far of the hijacking of confidential data involving his work at the US domestic intelligence agency.
Handala, the criminal group that claimed responsibility for the cyber attack, calls itself pro-Palestine and is considered by Western experts to be one of the secret arms used by the Iranian regime’s cyberintelligence units.
It recently claimed responsibility for another lawsuit against an American medical services provider based in Michigan. They claim to have destroyed a huge set of company data.
It is not the first time that the FBI director has been the target of a hacker attack. In 2024, before taking office, Patel was informed by authorities that he had been the target of Iranian actions and that some of his personal communications had been accessed. Investigations at the time suggested a joint action by China and Iran to steal sensitive information from future officials that President Donald Trump would choose for his administration.
