
Hackers linked to Iran have publicly claimed to have accessed the personal mailbox of FBI Director Kash Patel, publishing photos of the director and other documents online.
On their website, the hacker group Handala Hack Team said that Patel "will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims."
A Justice Department official confirmed that Patel's email had been hacked and said the material published online appeared authentic, Reuters reports.
Handala, which calls itself a group of pro-Palestinian vigilante hackers, is considered by Western researchers to be one of several characters used by the Iranian government's cyber intelligence units.
Handala recently claimed to have hacked Michigan-based medical equipment and services provider Stryker (SYK.N), deleting a large amount of the company's data.
Reuters was unable to independently identify Patel's emails.
A sample of the material uploaded by the hackers and reviewed by Reuters appears to show a mix of personal and work correspondence dating between 2010 and 2019.
