‘Couldn’t even lock down his own inbox’: Kash Patel hammered after email hack

The Justice Department (DOJ) confirmed Friday that the personal email of FBI Director Kash Patel was compromised by an Iran-linked hacking group, sparking an uproar from critics who noted the irony in a top national security official not securing their own personal email account.

“The FBI boss who’s supposed to protect America couldn’t even lock down his own inbox from foreign spies,” wrote liberal influencer Ed Krassenstein Friday in a social media post on X to his more than 1 million followers. “How does this scream ‘strong on national security?’”

The group that claimed responsibility for the security breach is Handala Hack, which is affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, per the DOJ. Earlier this month, the DOJ issued a $10 million reward for information on any of its members.

In a defiant statement published on Friday, Handala Hack said that the $10 million reward was what motivated them to release Patel’s personal files and photos. The group mocked the FBI for how “easily” its security was breached.

“The so-called ‘impenetrable’ systems of the FBI were brought to their knees within hours by our team,” reads a statement from the hacking group.

“All personal and confidential information of Kash Patel, including emails, conversations, documents, and even classified files, is now available for public download. This is the security that the U.S. government boasts about?! If your director can be compromised this easily, what do you expect from your lower-level employees?”

Krassenstein was not alone in mocking Patel for his alleged incompetence. Journalist Max Blumenthal took aim at Patel specifically over a select-few photos released by the hacking group that appeared to show the FBI director on a trip to Cuba, which the Trump administration is currently starving of resources with crippling sanctions that have shuttered hospitals and made food scarce.

“While US federal agents harass Americans for bringing humanitarian aid to Cuba, seizing their phones and subjecting them to interrogations at airports, photos surface of FBI Director Kash Patel on a trip to Havana enjoying cigars, rum and local culture,” Blumenthal wrote Friday in a social media post on X to their more than 840,000 followers.