Iran Hackers hacked FBI Director Patel's emails

The news is making the rounds on social networks around the world that an Iranian-linked hacker group has hacked the personal email account of Kash Patel, director of the FBI, leaking private photographs and documents online, according to the hackers themselves and confirmed by the agency.

The group, which calls itself Handala Hack Team, claimed the attack by posting a series of personal images of Patel on its website, including shots of him smoking cigars, driving a classic car, and posing with a bottle of rum. The images are accompanied by a message stating that the official 'is now part of the list of successfully hacked victims'.

The FBI confirmed that the account was targeted. Spokesperson Ben Williamson said the agency had taken "all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks," stressing that the data involved was "historical in nature and did not include government information."

According to the US media, the hackers also published a sample of more than 300 e-mails, apparently containing both personal and professional correspondence dating from the period between 2010 and 2019.

Handala presents itself as a pro-Palestinian 'vigilante' hacker group, but Western researchers consider it to be one of the identities used by cyber-intelligence units linked to the Iranian government. The group had also recently claimed an attack against the US company Stryker, claiming to have deleted a large amount of data.