https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/doj-confirms-fbi-director-kash-patels-personal-email-was-hacked/ Skip to content Ars Technica home Sections Forum Subscribe Search * AI * Biz & IT * Cars * Culture * Gaming * Health * Policy * Science * Security * Space * Tech * Feature * Reviews * AI * Biz & IT * Cars * Culture * Gaming * Health * Policy * Science * Security * Space * Tech Forum Subscribe Story text Size [Standard] Width * [Standard] Links [Standard] * Subscribers only Learn more Pin to story Theme * HyperLight * Day & Night * Dark * System Search Sign In Sign in dialog... Sign in Handala Hack battles intensify DOJ confirms FBI Director Kash Patel's personal email was hacked Hackers claimed the attack was retaliation after Patel vowed to "hunt" them. Ashley Belanger - Mar 27, 2026 12:24 pm | 139 [GettyImages-2266689842-640x427] [GettyImages-2266689842-1024x648] FBI Director Kash Patel's personal email account was hacked. Credit: Bill Clark / Contributor | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. FBI Director Kash Patel's personal email account was hacked. Credit: Bill Clark / Contributor | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. Text settings Story text Size [Standard] Width * [Standard] Links [Standard] * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Iran-linked hackers successfully broke into FBI Director Kash Patel's personal email, the Department of Justice confirmed to Reuters on Friday. Reuters could not authenticate the leaked emails themselves but noted that the Gmail address matched an email account "linked to Patel in previous data breaches preserved by the dark web intelligence firm District 4 Labs." The DOJ suggested the emails appeared to be authentic. On their website, the Handala Hack Team boasted that Patel "will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims." The hacker group taunted Patel by sharing photos of him sniffing cigars and holding up a jug of rum, along with other documents that Reuters reported were from 2010 to 2019. "Soon you will realize that the FBI's security was nothing more than a joke," the group posted, as documented in screenshots from the website shared widely on X. The hack came after the DOJ disrupted some of the hacker group's websites earlier this month. In a press release, Patel threatened to "hunt" down the group, which Reuters reported "calls itself a group of pro-Palestinian vigilante hackers." After detailing four attacks this month that the group had taken credit for, Patel offered rewards of up to $10 million for information on its members. "Iran thought they could hide behind fake websites and keyboard threats to terrorize Americans and silence dissidents," Patel said. "We took down four of their operation's pillars and we're not done. This FBI will hunt down every actor behind these cowardly death threats and cyberattacks and will bring the full force of American law enforcement down on them." The group, which Western researchers believe is "one of several personas used by Iranian government cyberintelligence units," opposes US support for Israel, Reuters reported. Their cyberattacks on US entities followed a major military attack from the US and Israel that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In their press release, the DOJ quoted from emails in which the group sent death threats to dissidents in the US. "We the Handala Hack team, the loyal followers of the supreme leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, declare war on all the enemies of Islam in the West," the group said. On Friday, the group confirmed on their website that the hack on Patel's email was in retaliation against the domain seizures: Today, once again, the world witnessed the collapse of America's so-called security legends. While the FBI proudly seized our domains and immediately announced a $10 million reward for the heads of Handala Hack members, we decided to respond to this ridiculous show in a way that will be remembered forever. Hackers claimed that their data grab included confidential information about Patel, but that could not be independently verified. "The so-called 'impenetrable' systems of the FBI were brought to their knees within hours by our team," the group said on their website. "All personal and confidential information of Kash Patel, including emails, conversations, documents, and even classified files, is now available for public download." The FBI has yet to comment on the hack, and Patel has not posted about it on his X account as of this writing. Photo of Ashley Belanger Ashley Belanger Senior Policy Reporter Ashley Belanger Senior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 139 Comments Comments Forum view Loading Loading comments... Prev story Next story Most Read 1. Listing image for first story in Most Read: Elon Musk loses big in court; X boycott perfectly legal 1. Elon Musk loses big in court; X boycott perfectly legal 2. 2. Netflix raises prices for every subscription tier by up to 12.5 percent 3. 3. DOJ confirms FBI Director Kash Patel's personal email was hacked 4. 4. Google's TurboQuant AI-compression algorithm can reduce LLM memory usage by 6x 5. 5. Archaeologists may have found the grave of the legendary "fourth musketeer" Customize Ars Technica has been separating the signal from the noise for over 25 years. With our unique combination of technical savvy and wide-ranging interest in the technological arts and sciences, Ars is the trusted source in a sea of information. After all, you don't need to know everything, only what's important. 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