A hacktivist group linked to Iranian intelligence services claims to have stolen personal and confidential information from FBI Director Kash Patel, including emails, documents and potentially classified files. The Handala Hack Team posted photos and what it claims is a snippet of Patel's resume on its website. A Department of Justice source told Reuters that Patel's email had been breached, though the FBI has not responded to requests for comment.
The alleged breach represents a significant escalation in ongoing cyber warfare between the U.S., Israel and Iran. Handala claims the attack was retaliation for the FBI's seizure of several of the group's domains last week, following the hackers' claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on U.S. medical technology company Stryker.
The group posted photos of Patel with Cuban license plates and shared what appears to be an older version of his personal resume. Handala also claims to have compiled stolen documents into a zip file, though Axios has not verified the authenticity of the materials. The group wrote that the hack was a response to what it called the FBI's "ridiculous show" in seizing domains and offering a $10 million reward for Handala members.
Security experts note that groups like Handala are known to exaggerate the scope of their breaches and stolen information. Iran typically uses proxy groups for cyber operations to make formal attribution more difficult for targeted entities and governments. The incident could put additional scrutiny on Patel's leadership of the FBI during a period of heightened cyber tensions.