Kash Patel, president-elect Donald Trump pick for becoming Director of the FBI, has been the target of an Iranian hack, according to sources who spoke with CNN.
Patel was reportedly informed by the FBI recently that he had been the target of Iranian hackers.
According to the CNN report, the hackers may have gained access to some of Patel’s communications during the commission of the cyberattack.
Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the FBI, has been targeted in an Iranian hack, sources say. https://t.co/Zsz82G7FPl
— CNN (@CNN) December 4, 2024
The attack targeting Trump’s pick for incoming FBI director would mark the latest attempt by Iranian hackers to infiltrate Trump’s associates.
According to the New York Post, just this past September, the Justice Department brought charges against three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for hacking Trump campaign staffers and leaking sensitive information to media outlets and the campaign of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Iranian hackers also reportedly stole a dossier on Vice President-elect JD Vance and prep material for Trump’s first debate against Biden on June 27.
According to the Department of Justice, Iran’s “wide-ranging hacking campaign” employed fake online personas and targeted four Trump campaign operatives, current and former US government officials, journalists and others with phishing emails and other social engineering methods.
The indictment against IRGC members Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi shows their operation began as early as January 2020, when Trump ordered the airstrike in Iraq that killed IRGC Commander Qassem Soleimani.
The New York Post noted that the Trump transition team would allow the FBI to conduct background checks on incoming administration officials.
The FBI, a spokesperson for Patel and the Trump transition team did not respond to immediate requests for comment.