2 months ago
A hacking group called Handala has gained entree to FBI Director Kash Patel's email account, Reuters reports. The group published contented from Patel's email connected their website arsenic proof, including photos of Patel "sniffing and smoking cigars" and "making a look while taking a image of himself successful nan reflector pinch a large vessel of rum."
TechCrunch was capable to independently corroborate that astatine slightest immoderate of nan emails Handala stole were from Patel's relationship by checking accusation utilized by message transportation systems that’s stored successful an email's header. Several stolen emails included a cryptographic signature that linked them to Patel's account. The FBI has besides separately confirmed that nan Director's relationship was hacked. "The FBI is alert of malicious actors targeting Director Patel's individual email information, and we person taken each basal steps to mitigate imaginable risks associated pinch this activity," nan Bureau told TechCrunch. "The accusation successful mobility is humanities successful quality and involves nary authorities information."
The FBI is offering up to $10 cardinal successful rewards for much accusation astir nan hackers who targeted Patel's account. Handala presents arsenic a pro-Palestinian hacking group online, but is believed to beryllium 1 of respective aliases utilized by cyberintelligence units moving for nan Iranian government, Reuters writes. Groups affiliated pinch Iran person targeted officials successful nan US before. In August 2024, nan FBI shared that a abstracted group, APT42, was trying to summation access to some nan Trump and Harris campaigns. Three men associated pinch APT42 were later charged that September.
Handala has appeared to go much progressive during the existent conflict betwixt nan US, Israel and Iran. According to Reuters, nan group claimed to beryllium down a cyber onslaught connected Stryker, a aesculapian devices company, earlier successful March. Handala besides said it accessed and published individual information from Lockheed Martin labor stationed successful nan Middle East.
