FBI director’s emails and personal photos published by Iranian hackers
A pro-Iranian group has published personal emails and pictures of the head of the FBI after hacking into his accounts.
Hundreds of documents, pictures and a CV of Kash Patel have been shared by the Handala Hack Team, which has links to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence.
The group wrote: ‘Kash Patel, the current head of the FBI, who once saw his name displayed with pride on the agency’s headquarters, will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims.
‘The so-called ‘impenetrable’ systems of the FBI were brought to their knees within hours by our team.’
Many of the hacked records shared were from more than a decade ago.
Leaked photos included one of Mr Patel smoking a cigar in his mouth and another of the FBI boss standing next to a vintage sports car.
Handala, which presents as a pro-Palestinian hacking group, is thought to be one of several fronts used by the Iranian regime to conduct cyber attacks.
Earlier this month the same group claimed to have hacked into Stryker, a Michigan-based medical services provider and had deleted a large number of its files.
More than 300 emails send and received by Mr Patel from a Gmail account were shared, dating from 2010 to 2019.
It comes amid a rise in cyber-related operations from Iran-backed organisations.
On Thursday Handala claimed to have targeted employees working in the Middle East for defence firm Lockheed Martin.
The company said it was aware of the reports and had put systems in place ‘to mitigate cyber threats to our business’.
The FBI confirmed that the details taken were ‘historical in nature’ and that no governmental information had been disclosed.
It said in a statement: ‘The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel‘s personal email information, and we have 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.’
Gil Messing, chief of staff at Israeli cybersecurity company Check Point, said the leaking of Mr Patel’s personal details was designed to make US officials feel ‘vulnerable’.
Iranian groups were ‘firing whatever they have’, he said.
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