Ten million dollars. That's the reward the FBI offered for the capture of the Iranian group Handala, which hacked the personal e-mail of its director. In addition to the head of the FBI, they also targeted engineers at Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the Czech F-35 fighter jets. According to the magazine. Forbes The US FBI admitted to compromising Director Kash Patel's personal email account, saying only historical data was affected and no government information was leaked. The stolen material included photos, travel information and emails from 2011 to 2022.
Through the government's Rewards for Justice program, authorities have announced a $10 million (approximately CZK 213 million) reward for information leading to the capture of members of the Iranian Handala group. In the cybersecurity community, these hackers are also known as Hatef. This is an Iranian hacktivist group (using hacking techniques to achieve political or social goals) that began to ramp up its attack activities after the start of the war in Iran in late February. The group is not independent but acts as an extended arm and front directly for the Iranian Ministry of Information and Security.
For example, they managed to penetrate the systems of the giant American arms company Lockheed Martin. According to the agency. Reuters the group obtained the personal and professional accounts of 28 high-ranking engineers. It then posted their exact addresses, phone numbers and copies of their passports on the internet. It also began threatening them with an ultimatum: if they did not stop cooperating with the Israeli „Zionist regime“ within 48 hours, their homes would be targeted by rockets. It is Lockheed Martin that will start production of fifth-generation aircraft next year (with the participation of a number of Czech subcontractors). F-35 for the Czech Army. With a price tag of CZK 150 billion, it is the largest Czech arms purchase ever.
In addition to Lockheed, Handala is also responsible for the devastating March attack on healthcare giant Stryker in Michigan. Through the misuse of the Microsoft Intune platform, attackers exfiltrated 50TB of critical data and subsequently irreversibly wiped 200,000 endpoint devices. Israel is not left behind. The leaks have targeted generals there in the past, and even former Mossad intelligence chief Tamir Pardo, the newspaper notes Haaretz.
The motif of psychological war and revenge
The motivation for the attack on the FBI director was the desire for swift retaliation. On 19 March, the US Department of Justice seized the internet domains used by the Handala group. The hackers immediately sought a target for their revenge. As expert Michael Bell explains for Forbes, the attackers simply chose the easiest possible target. Bell also points out that in Patel's case, this was not a sophisticated cyberattack, but a complete failure of operational security. The crux of the problem is simple.
Patel's old Gmail account and the relevant access details have most likely long been circulating in the leaked databases on the Dark Web from previous leaks. Despite this fatal risk, no one bothered to securely lock the sensitive account. Noelle Murata of Xcape Inc. points out that high-ranking officials are the weakest link in national security if they neglect their personal digital footprint. Hackers have targeted several high-ranking people in Donald Trump's administration in the past. Including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blench or the oldest descendant of U.S. President Donald Trump Jr.
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