FBI chief Kash Patel's personal email hacked by Iran-linked hackers amid conflict: Here's what they released

Iran-linked hackers on Friday claimed to have gained access to FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email account, posting photographs and other documents online.

The hacker group, Handala Hack Team, stated on their website that Patel “will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims.” The released content included personal images of Patel smoking and sniffing cigars, driving an antique convertible, and taking a mirror selfie while holding a large bottle of rum, according to Reuters.

A Justice Department official confirmed that Patel’s email had been compromised and noted that the material appearing online seemed genuine. The FBI did not immediately comment, and the hackers did not respond to messages seeking clarification, the report noted.

The agency could not independently verify the authenticity of the emails reportedly belonging to Patel. However, the personal Gmail account that the Handala Hack Team claims to have breached matches an address previously linked to Patel in data breaches archived by dark web intelligence firm District 4 Labs. Google, which operates Gmail, did not immediately respond to its request for comment.

A review of a sample of the materials posted by the hackers by Reuters indicates that the content includes a mix of personal and professional correspondence spanning the years 2010 to 2019.

Iranian-backed cyberattacks targeting Patel in 2024

US intelligence agencies have repeatedly cautioned about the risk of Tehran-affiliated hackers retaliating following last month’s US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. This is not the first instance of Iranian-backed cyberattacks targeting FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal information.

Just weeks before Patel’s appointment as FBI Director in late 2024, officials notified him that he had been singled out in an Iranian cyberattack, during which some of his private communications were accessed, as per CNN.

The 2024 cyberattack was part of a wider campaign by foreign hackers, including groups from China and Iran, targeting the accounts of incoming Trump administration officials. Those affected included current Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, former interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan, and Donald Trump Jr.

What did DoJ say after Iran-linked group carried out cyberattack on Stryker?

The Iran-linked group that recently claimed responsibility for breaching Patel’s emails had also carried out a cyberattack earlier this month, which disrupted operations at a major US medical device company Stryker.

At the time, the hackers stated their actions were in retaliation for a missile strike on an elementary school in Iran, which Iranian state media reported at least 168 children lost their lives. The Pentagon has confirmed it is probing the incident.

The Justice Department said it had seized four domains as part of an ongoing effort to disrupt hacking and transnational repression operations allegedly carried out by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The DoJ earlier stated that it had taken control of four domains linked to the “Handala Hack Team.” It also said Handala was one of many public-facing identities used by a hacking unit tied to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security as part of its psychological operations.