Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump chosen to lead the FBIwas recently informed that it was the target of a potential Iranian-backed cyberattack, two people familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News.
The apparent hackers targeted his communications, but their success and access to the data are still being assessed, the sources said.
The FBI declined to comment. CBS News had also reached out to Trump’s transition team for comment.
News of Patel’s potential targeting by Iran was first reported by Semafor.
This comes after months of warnings of the FBI and other federal agencies on Iranian cyber activity targeting Trump campaign staff ahead of the 2024 presidential election. In September, Justice Department prosecutors indicted three members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps by launching a massive hacking campaign against American officials, including those close to Trump.
In August, Microsoft said that Iran increased its efforts to influence the November election and, in one case, targeted a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack.
Trump and his allies, including members of his first administration, have been targets of Iran since the murder of 2020 of Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, and U.S. officials have continued to warn of such cyberattack campaigns in recent months.
Patel, 44 years old served in intelligence and defense roles during Trump’s first term, including serving as chief of staff to the Secretary of Defense. He was also appointed by Trump as a representative to the National Archives and Records Administration and fought a subpoena to testify before a federal grand jury in the United States. Mar-a-Lago Classified Documents Affair.
He is an attorney and staunch Trump loyalist who rose to prominence as an aide to former Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California, fighting the investigation on Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
He served on Trump’s National Security Council, then as a senior advisor to acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, and later as chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.