Iran-linked hackers have claimed responsibility for breaching the personal email account of FBI Director Kash Patel, publishing photographs and other documents they say were taken from his inbox.
The group, which calls itself Handala Hack Team, said on its website that Patel was among its “successfully hacked victims.” A Justice Department official confirmed that Patel’s email account had been compromised and said material posted online appeared to be authentic. The FBI has not provided any comment.
Western cybersecurity researchers consider Handala to be one of several online personas used by Iranian government-linked cyberintelligence units. The group describes itself as a pro-Palestinian collective and has previously claimed responsibility for cyberattacks on U.S. companies.
The Gmail address the hackers say they accessed matches an address previously linked to Patel in older data breaches tracked by the dark web intelligence firm District 4 Labs. A sample of the material appears to include a mix of personal and work-related correspondence dating from 2010 to 2019. The scope of the breach and how the account was accessed were not immediately clear.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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