Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump Choose to lead the FBIwas recently informed that it was the target of a possible Iran-backed cyberattack, two people familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News.
The people said apparent hackers targeted their communications, but whether they succeeded and how much access they had to the data is still being evaluated.
The FBI declined to comment. CBS News also contacted the Trump transition team for comment.
Semaphore was the first to report on Iran's possible targeting of Patel.
comes after this months of warnings The FBI and other federal agencies detected Iranian cyber activity targeting Trump campaign staffers leading up to the 2024 presidential election. In September, Justice Department prosecutors allegations against three members Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched a widespread hacking campaign against US officials, including those close to Trump.
In August, Microsoft said that Iran was growing Its efforts to influence the November election and in one case the presidential campaign were targeted with an email phishing attack.
Trump and his allies, including members of his first administration, have been targets of Iran since murder of 2020 Gen. Qassem Soleimani in the U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, and U.S. officials have continued to warn about those cyberattack campaigns in recent months.
44 year old Patel served In Trump's first term he served in intelligence and defense roles, ranging from Chief of Staff to Secretary of Defense. He was also named by Trump as a representative of the National Archives and Records Administration and fought a subpoena to testify before a federal grand jury. Mar-a-Lago classified document case,
He is an attorney and staunch Trump loyalist who rose to prominence as an aide to former Republican Representative Devin Nunes of California. Test In Russian interference in the 2016 election.
He served on Trump's National Security Council, then as a senior advisor to Director of National Intelligence Rick Grenell and later as chief of staff to Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.