‘Malicious actors’ targeted Kash Patel’s personal email, as Iran hacking group takes responsibility: FBI
An FBI spokesperson said that the agency is aware of “malicious actors” targeting FBI Director Patel’s personal email and has taken “all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks.” The information is “historical in nature” and does not involve government data.
The Iran-linked Handala Hack Team has claimed responsibility. The State Department’s “Rewards for Justice” program is offering $10 million for information identifying the group, which frequently targets U.S. officials.
The targeting follows a March 19 DOJ crackdown on the group. Weeks earlier, the DOJ seized four domains to disrupt hacking and transnational repression linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which escalated after the U.S.-Iran war began on Feb. 28. The seized handala-hack[.]to domain was used to claim a destructive March 11 malware attack on a U.S.-based multinational medical technologies firm, said the FBI. Handala Hack said the attack was retaliation for cyber assaults on the “Axis of Resistance.”
Investigators also found the group used an Outlook account to send death threats to Iranian dissidents and journalists in the U.S. and abroad, offering bounties to Mexican cartel partners to commit violence.
