Kash Patel
Iran-linked hackers breach FBI director’s personal email, post photos online
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- A Justice Department official confirmed the email was compromised and the leaked material appears authentic; the FBI did not comment.
- The correspondence, dating 2010–2019, includes personal and work emails; Handala is linked by researchers to Iranian cyberintelligence operations.
On Friday, the Iran-linked hacker group Handala Hack Team claimed they had gained access to FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email account, publishing a series of photographs and documents to the internet. The leaked images reportedly show Patel smoking cigars, riding in a vintage convertible, and taking a mirror selfie with a large bottle of rum.
A Justice Department official confirmed that Patel’s email had been compromised and that the material posted online appeared authentic. The FBI did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The group recently claimed responsibility for breaching Michigan-based medical device company Stryker in March, deleting a significant amount of company data.
The leaked Patel correspondence, dating from 2010 to 2019, reportedly includes a mix of personal and professional emails. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the content, though the Gmail address matches one previously linked to Patel in prior dark web breaches.
