Iranian hackers have reached their tentacles into the incoming Trump administration after the president-elect’s pick for FBI chief, Kash Patel, was targeted by a cyber attack, according to reports.
CNN cited two sources, one of whom stated that “at least some of Patel’s communications” had been infiltrated. Donald Trump’s team wouldn’t go into specifics about the reports, but transition spokesman Alex Pfeiffer told the network: “Kash Patel was a key part of the first Trump administration’s efforts against the terrorist Iranian regime and will implement President Trump’s policies to protect America from adversaries as the FBI Director.”
Indeed, Patel was involved in the first Trump administration’s National Security Council as an adviser to the acting director of national intelligence and as chief of staff to former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller.
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Trump himself has been told by the bureau in the past that he is “one of the top targets” of Iran, and the alleged recent cyber attack marks just one of many in recent months.
In August, the FBI, ODNI, and CISA released a joint statement saying that there had been “activities to compromise former President Trump’s campaign,” which the intelligence community “attributes to Iran.”
And both Google and Microsoft said that they had busted phishing campaigns led by Iran-backed hackers in the lead-up to the 2024 election. OpenAI said it also eliminated ChatGPT accounts thought to be involved in an Iranian disinformation effort.
An indictment unsealed in September alleges that three Iranian men gained access to the email account of a Trump campaign official in the summer, which allowed them to steal debate preparation material and information on possible vice presidential candidates.
The men, suspected of being involved with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reportedly engaged in a campaign dating back to January 2020, when Trump ordered a strike that killed top army general Qasem Soleimani.
