A hacking group with ties to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) leaked photographs of FBI Director Kash Patel allegedly stolen from his personal email account on Friday morning. An FBI spokesperson told Recorded Future News that the information is “historical in nature and involves no government information,” adding that the agency has “taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity.” Earlier on Friday, the Justice Department confirmed to Reuters that Patel’s email was breached and the documents appeared authentic. In addition to photos, the leak includes mundane emails from 2010 and 2019 allegedly sent by and to Patel. The group, which operates under the name Handala, published a lengthy blog post claiming the leak was in response to FBI actions last week that involved the takedown of several websites and a $10 million bounty put on members of the group. The FBI reiterated on Friday that the $10 million reward for information on Handala is still in place, noting that the Iranian group “has frequently targeted U.S. government officials.” The Justice Department seized four domains — Justicehomeland[.]org, Handala-Hack[.]to, Karmabelow80[.]org, and Handala-Redwanted[.]to — allegedly used by Iran’s MOIS in operations dating back to 2022. But Handala quickly created new websites and has spent the week issuing threats to U.S. and Israeli officials. In court documents, the FBI said Handala was one of several monikers Iran’s MOIS has used over the years to conduct hacking campaigns, leak operations and other digital initiatives targeting Israel and the United States. Handala said the leak of Patel’s personal photos was also in response to the sinking of Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dena, which was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine in the Indian Ocean on March 4. Handala previously took responsibility for a cyberattack on a Michigan-based medical device firm and this week leaked the alleged personal information of officials at defense company Lockheed Martin. Israeli officials claimed last week that several of the Iranian leaders behind Handala were recently killed in airstrikes.
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