Cybercriminals with ties to Iran have reportedly accessed the personal email account of FBI Director Kash Patel, sources familiar with the situation informed CBS News on Friday.
An FBI representative offered no immediate comment.
The intrusion was initially reported by Reuters, which stated that the hacker group Handala HackTeam claimed responsibility for the incident and published images online of the FBI director and his supposed resume.
Just over seven days ago, the Department of Justice announced the seizure of a domain used by Handala HackTeam, among four domains, as part of an initiative to disrupt Iranian hacking and transnational repression schemes.
According to the department’s official press release, an FBI investigation concluded that the four sites conducted cyberattacks and “‘faketivist’ psychological operations utilizing data acquired through hacking.”
Patel’s remarks in the release stated, “We have dismantled four pillars of their operation, and our mission is not complete. This FBI will relentlessly pursue every perpetrator behind these cowardly death threats and cyberattacks and will bring the full might of American law enforcement down upon them.”
This is a developing news story and will be updated regularly.