A group of hackers linked to accessed an email account of the director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, and published personal photos of him on the internet, the American press reported this Friday, 27.
The American television channel CNN, the Associated Press news agency and other vehicles indicated, based on sources close to the case, that the attack on Patel’s email was claimed by the Handala Hack Team, a group of pro-Iran cybercriminals.
According to CNN, the stolen emails include personal, business and travel correspondence, and appear to date from 2011 to 2022, before Patel was named FBI director by President Donald Trump.
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Among the materials released by Handala were personal photos of the employee, including images of him smoking cigars and posing with a vintage car.
“Kash Patel, the current head of the FBI, whose name was once 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 sext 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 were taken to mitigate the possible risks associated with this activity”.
Handala claimed the hack of Patel’s email on social media, stating that it was a response to the FBI’s seizure of domain names that belonged to him.
It was not clear when the cyber attack claimed by Handala 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.
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The FBI and the Department of Justice announced a week ago the seizure of four website domains that were allegedly used by hackers linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security. Among the domains seized were two that were allegedly used by Handala.
The sites were used for “psychological operations directed against opponents of the regime”, publishing stolen data and “calling for the murder of journalists, regime dissidents and Israeli citizens”, the Department of Justice then reported.
The State Department, in turn, offered a reward of up to US$10 million (R$52.35 million) for information that leads to the identification of members of the hacker group. (With International Agencies)
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