A group of hackers linked to Iran has claimed it gained access to the personal email account of Kash Patel, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and shared photographs and documents online.

 

The Handala Hack Team, which identifies itself as a pro-Palestinian vigilante hacking group, said on Friday that Patel “will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims.”

 

Reports from Reuters and CNN, citing unnamed security officials and individuals familiar with the matter, confirmed the breach. A Justice Department official confirmed that Patel’s email account had been compromised and said that the content shared online appeared to be genuine but the FBI did not immediately issue any comments on the incident.

 

The released material reportedly includes documents more than a decade old. Some of the emails show Patel’s travel and business correspondence. Others feature photographs of Patel next to a sports convertible, posing with a cigar, and standing in front of a mirror with a bottle of rum.

 

Patel assumed the role of FBI director in 2025, becoming the agency’s ninth leader. His tenure has faced criticism, with opponents accusing him of using the federal law enforcement agency for personal travel and to implement the priorities of United States US President Donald Trump.

 

The hacking group also claimed responsibility for a recent cyberattack on the medical device company Stryker. Western researchers have said the group is linked to Iranian cyberintelligence.

 

The group framed the breach as retaliation for the US-Israeli strike on a children’s school in Minab, southern Iran, which killed over 170 people, most of them schoolgirls. In a previous statement, the group said that the operation marked “the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare.”

 

Iran has threatened to increase attacks on Western economic targets as leverage amid tensions with the United States and Israel.