IRAN‑LINKED HACKER GROUP CLAIMS TO HAVE BREACHED FBI DIRECTOR’S PERSONAL EMAIL
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Agency Report
An Iranian-linked hacker group claimed on Friday to have hacked the personal email account of US Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel and published personal photos and other material online.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that “malicious actors” had targeted Patel’s personal email and said it had “taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity.”
“The information in question is historical in nature and involves no government information,” the FBI said in a statement.
The United States Department of State, meanwhile, offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of members of the pro-Iranian hacktivist group known as Handala Hack Team, which has targeted US government officials in the past.
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The United States Department of Justice had earlier warned of potential cyberattacks by Iranian actors following heightened tensions involving the United States and Iran.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist groups, published a statement from Handala claiming responsibility for the breach of Patel’s email.
“Today, once again, the world witnessed the collapse of America’s so-called security legends,” the group said. “The so-called ‘impenetrable’ systems of the FBI were brought to their knees within hours by our team.
“All personal and confidential information of Kash Patel, including emails, conversations, documents, and even classified files, is now available for public download,” it added.
Handala said the hack was “dedicated to the martyrs of the Dena destroyer,” an Iranian naval vessel reportedly lost earlier this month.
‘Hunt down’
According to Check Point Software Technologies, the compromised emails date from 2010 to 2019, before Patel’s appointment as FBI director by former President Donald Trump, and appear to have originated from “an old email account or cloud backup rather than an active inbox.”
“Based on what we’ve seen so far from the material shared by the Iran-linked group Handala, the data appears to consist largely of older email correspondence and personal files dating back many years, rather than evidence of an active or ongoing intrusion,” Check Point’s chief of staff, Gil Messing, said in a statement.
Personal photos of Patel were among the materials released online by the group, including images of him smoking cigars and posing with an antique car.
The FBI and the Justice Department also announced the seizure, a week earlier, of four website domains allegedly used by hackers affiliated with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
Among those seized were two domains allegedly linked to Handala.
The Justice Department said the disabled websites were used for “psychological operations targeting adversaries of the regime,” including posting stolen data and “calling for the killing of journalists, regime dissidents, and Israeli individuals.”
“Iran thought they could hide behind fake websites and keyboard threats to terrorise Americans and silence dissidents,” Patel said in a March 19 statement announcing the seizure of the domains.
“This FBI will hunt down every actor behind these cowardly death threats and cyberattacks and will bring the full force of American law enforcement down on them,” he added.
AFP
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