FBI boss and Trump pal Kash Patel has private photos and emailed leaked by Iran hackers

An Iranian hacking group has claimed responsibility after private photos and emails belonging to FBI director Kash Patel were leaked online, with one showing him holding a cigar to his nose

FBI director Kash Patel has been hacked by Iran – leading dozens of his private photos and emails to be made public.

A pro-Iranian hacking group claimed to have accessed an account belonging to the close Donald Trump ally and shared what appeared to be years-old photographs of him, along with a CV and other personal documents.

One showed Patel posing beside an antique sports car, and another with a cigar in his mouth. The group also said that it was sharing emails and other documents from the FBI director’s account – revealing private details about his personal travels and business dealings.

The message from the Iranian hacker group Handala read: “Kash Patel, the current head of the FBI, who once saw his name displayed with pride on the agency’s headquarters, will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims.”

The FBI said in a statement: “The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel’s personal email information, and we have taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity.

“The information in question is historical in nature and involves no government information.”

The Trump administration is offering a $10million (£7.4million) reward for information leading to the identification of members of the Handala hacking group.

It was not clear when the hack claimed by Handala took place, though reports from December 2024 – before Patel was confirmed as director – said he had been informed by FBI that he had been targeted by an Iranian hack.

Handala is a pro-Iranian, pro-Palestinian hacking group that earlier this month claimed credit for disrupting systems at Stryker, a Michigan-based medical technology company. Handala, which has close ties to the regime in Tehran, said the attack was in retaliation for suspected US strikes that killed Iranian schoolchildren.

The Justice Department singled out Handala in an announcement last week in which it said it had seized four web domains tied to Iranian hacking schemes and threats against dissidents

Describing the websites as hosting “terrorist propaganda”, Patel vowed to “hunt down every actor behind these cowardly death threats and cyberattacks” and “bring the full force of American law enforcement down on them.”

Writing on his Truth Social platform today, Donald Trump said he was “pausing” his strikes on key Iranian energy targets for another 10 days to continue with talks over ending the conflict, which he claimed were “going very well”. Iran has denied that any talks are talking place.