FBI director Patel's personal email breached by Iran-linked hackers

Investing.com -- A pro-Iran hacking group claimed Friday to have breached FBI Director Kash Patel's personal email inbox and posted some of the contents online.

The emails include mostly personal information, photographs and financial data, according to Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. Bloomberg News was not able to independently confirm the authenticity of the emails, though the email address the hackers claim to have compromised has been previously tied to personal details, including an address for Patel.

The group that took responsibility for hacking Patel's emails, Handala, is linked to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, according to the Justice Department. The FBI suspended Handala's website last week after the hacking group crippled American medical technology company Stryker Corp. The group said the Stryker cyberattack was carried out in retaliation for a suspected US bombing of an Iranian school.

The Department of State's Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of Handala Hack Team out of Iran.

"The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel's personal email information," the agency said in a statement Friday. "The information in question is historical in nature and involves no government information."

Reuters previously reported the breach of Patel's emails.

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