The Federal Bureau of Investigation has confirmed that the personal email account of its director, Kash Patel, was accessed by unauthorised actors, with data later published online.
According to statements from the FBI, the compromised account was not an official government system but a personal inbox. The agency said it took steps to contain the incident and mitigate any potential risks linked to the exposure.
Officials stated that the data involved was “historical in nature” and did not include classified or government-related information. The emails are reported to date primarily from before Patel’s tenure as FBI director, with most messages originating prior to 2019.
A hacking group known as Handala Hack Team has claimed responsibility for the breach. Security analysts and reporting have linked the group to Iranian cyber operations, although attribution has not been formally confirmed by US authorities.
Material published online by the group reportedly includes emails, documents, and personal photographs. Some reports indicate that the dataset contains private correspondence and travel-related details. The authenticity and full scope of the leaked data have not been independently verified by all sources.
The FBI said it is continuing to investigate the incident and is working to determine how access to the account was obtained. No technical details have been released regarding the method used in the breach.
US officials have also referenced an existing reward programme offering up to $10 million for information that could help identify or locate members of the group linked to the attack.
The agency stated that there is no indication that FBI systems or networks were compromised as part of the incident. The breach is being treated as a targeted intrusion into a personal account rather than a wider institutional compromise.
The case forms part of ongoing investigations into cyber activity attributed to groups linked to foreign state interests. Authorities have not provided a timeline for when the investigation will conclude or whether further disclosures will be made.