The FBI is offering out a whopping $10 million reward for information on the hackers who managed to infiltrate the director’s email account.
This comes after the head of the FBI, Kash Patel, was targeted by Iran-linked hacker group Handala last week.
The group has since released files they claim to be classified documents taken from the FBI director’s account, although the FBI has denied that any government information has been compromised.
In a note, the hackers wrote: “The so-called ‘impenetrable’ systems of the FBI were brought to their knees within hours by our team.”
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It seems that the group has hacked into Patel’s personal Gmail account, rather than a government account.
In a statement, the FBI confirmed that it was ‘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 FBI went on to say: “The information in question is historical in nature and involves no government information.
“The FBI will continue to pursue the actors responsible, support victims, and share actionable intelligence in defense of networks.”
Now, the US is offering $10 million for any information related to the hackers, with the State Department adding that there will be rewards for specific information on the Iranian groups Parsian Afzar Rayan Borna and Handala.
Patel recently took to X, formerly Twitter, to share FBI advice on cybersecurity, which said: “Your organization’s security extends only as far as your least-protected vendor with network or data access. Adversaries will target the weakest link in your supply chain to bypass strong security measures.”
Many people have taken to social media to react to the news, with one user writing on Reddit: “It was his private account so why is the government paying such a high reward. He probably wasn't hacked but clicked some phishing link and willingly gave away his creds.”
Another said: “We sure do seem to have a lot of money for literally everything other than healthcare..”
A third person commented: “US has 10 million to dole out over someone's hacked email but we have to kick people off their healthcare for more war money?”
And a fourth added: “Why does this get a $10M reward? Sure it's a crime and a reward could help capture the criminals, but my identity along with millions of Americans have been stolen multiple times over and yet there isn't a $10M award announced each time. Yes he's the Director of the FBI but unless there was classified information in that gmail account then it's just a citizen's email address and doesn't deserve a $10M reward.”