A hacking group called Handala has gained access to the email account of FBI Director Kash Patel. reuters Report. The group published material from Patel’s emails on its website as evidence, including photographs of Patel “sniffing and smoking a cigar” and “making a face while taking a picture of himself in the mirror with a large bottle of rum”.
techcrunch was able to independently confirm that at least some of the emails stolen by Handla were from Patel’s account by examining information used by mail delivery systems stored in the headers of emails. Many of the stolen emails included a cryptographic signature that linked them to Patel’s account. The FBI also separately confirmed that the director’s account was hacked. “The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel’s personal email information, and we have taken all necessary steps to mitigate the potential risks associated with this activity,” the bureau reported. techcrunch. “The information in the question is historical in nature and does not include any government information.”
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10 million for more information about the hackers who targeted Patel’s account. Handala poses as a pro-Palestinian hacking group online, but is believed to be one of several aliases used by cyber intelligence units working for the Iranian government. reuters Writes. Iran-linked groups have previously targeted officials in the US. In August 2024, the FBI shared that a separate group, APT42, was trying to gain access to both the Trump and Harris campaigns. Three people associated with APT42 were charged later in September.
Handala appears to be becoming more active during the current conflict between the US, Israel and Iran. according to reutersThe group claimed to be behind a cyberattack on medical device company Stryker in early March. Handala also said that he accessed and published personal data of Lockheed Martin employees deployed to the Middle East.
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