A group of hackers linked to Iran has claimed responsibility for breaching FBI Director Kash Patel’s email, publishing photos of the director and other documents online.
The group, Handala Hack Team, stated on their website that Patel “will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims.” A U.S. Department of Justice official confirmed that Patel’s email had been compromised and said the leaked material appeared authentic.
Handala, which describes itself as a pro-Palestinian hacking group, is considered by Western analysts to be one of several groups used by Iranian cyber-intelligence units. Recently, Handala also claimed responsibility for hacking Michigan-based medical device and services provider Stryker, asserting that it had deleted a large amount of the company’s data.
Reuters has not independently verified Patel’s emails, but the Gmail address Handala claims to have accessed matches the address linked to Patel in previous breaches recorded by the dark web intelligence firm District 4 Labs.
