Iran-linked hackers broke into the personal Gmail account of FBI Director Kash Patel and published more than 300 emails, personal photographs and other documents on the internet, the hacker group and the FBI confirmed Friday. The group, known as Handala Hack Team, posted images of Patel smoking cigars, riding in an antique convertible and taking a selfie with a large bottle of rum, along with a cache of personal and work correspondence dating from 2010 to 2019.

The FBI confirmed the breach in a statement from spokesperson Ben Williamson, who said the bureau had "taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity" and characterized the exposed data as "historical in nature" with "no government information" involved. Reuters was unable to independently authenticate the leaked emails, but noted that the personal Gmail address Handala claims to have accessed matches an account linked to Patel in previous data breaches documented by dark web intelligence firm District 4 Labs. Google, which operates Gmail, did not respond to a request for comment.

Handala presents itself as a pro-Palestinian vigilante hacking collective but is assessed by Western researchers to be one of several public personas operated by Iranian government cyberintelligence units. The group has claimed a series of recent operations, including a March 11 hack of Michigan-based medical device firm Stryker and a Thursday release of personal data belonging to dozens of Lockheed Martin employees stationed in the Middle East. Lockheed Martin said it was aware of the reports and had procedures in place to address cyber threats.

The attack on Patel fits a broader pattern of escalating Iranian cyber activity following coordinated U.S. and Israeli military strikes against Iran last month. Gil Messing, chief of staff at Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point, said the hack-and-leak operation was part of Iran's strategy to embarrass senior U.S. officials and "make them feel vulnerable," adding that Iranian actors are "firing whatever they have." Targeting senior officials' personal email accounts is a known tactic among state-linked hackers, most notably employed when adversaries breached the personal Gmail account of Democratic operative John Podesta during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.