The personal email account of Kash Patel, the director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was breached by a hacker group believed to be linked to Iran, with private photos and documents posted online, Reuters reported on Friday.
The group identifying itself as Handala Hack Team publicly claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it gained access to Patel's personal inbox and published items including what it described as photographs and his resume. On their website, the hacker group Handala Hack Team said Patel "will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims.", stated Reuters in the published Report.
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As per the report, The Justice Department acknowledged that the account was compromised, though it has not released full details on the breach.
Though, The FBI has not issued a public comment on the incident.
The Handala Hack Team is considered by some cybersecurity researchers to be a pro‑Palestinian vigilante hacking group with links to Iranian cyberintelligence operations. In recent years, the group has claimed several high‑profile breaches and promoted its activities on underground forums and websites including the hack of Michigan-based medical devices and services provider Stryker (SYK.N), on March 11, claiming to have deleted a massive trove of company data.
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The leaked emails, according to samples seen by reporters, appeared to include a mix of personal correspondence and older messages dating between 2010 and 2019.
The authenticity of individual documents has not been fully verified by authorities.
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