Security
27 March 2026
WIRED
Security News This Week: Iranian Hackers Breached Kash Patel’s Email—but Not the FBI’s
As the United States-Israel war with Iran continues, President Donald Trump reportedly plans a risky mission to send US special forces into Iran to seize Tehran’s enriched uranium. Experts warn this would be extremely dangerous, with a low chance of success and potential risks to troops' lives.
A mysterious radio station broadcasting random Persian numbers since the war began has sparked speculation about an intelligence operation using century-old cipher technology. While its purpose and operator remain unclear, many believe it is part of Iran’s cyber retaliation efforts.
WIRED’s War Machine package explores the broader conflict, including the disappearance of a teenager amid Gaza’s destruction, the challenges Palestinians face obtaining death certificates, and a family forced into hiding due to fears of US immigration agents. Additionally, WIRED examines Anduril’s struggles in disrupting the defense industry.
Nearly 1,000 US police departments are reportedly covering their salaries and costs with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A VPN is not as private as many think—lawmakers questioned NSA director Tulsi Gabbard about whether surveillance authorities can target VPN users. The US surveillance laws may also allow targeting of individuals outside the country, regardless of VPN use.
WIRED published an excerpt from Andrew Guthrie Ferguson’s book, *Your Data Will Be Used Against You*, discussing how fitness trackers and biometric surveillance threaten privacy rights. The UK imposed sanctions on Xinbi Guarantee, a black-market platform facilitating $20 billion in illicit sales, operating on Telegram and evading previous bans.
The Iranian hacker group Handala breached Kash Patel’s Gmail account, exposing personal emails and photos from 2010 to 2019. While the group claimed to have compromised the FBI, evidence suggests it only breached Patel’s personal email. Handala, described as opportunistic and propaganda-driven, threatened to dox 28 Lockheed Martin engineers and offered a $50 million bounty for eliminating US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Apple’s Lockdown Mode has proven effective against mercenary spyware, with no confirmed successful attacks since its launch in 2020. Russian law proposes requiring domestic 5G networks to use NEA-7 encryption, potentially isolating Russian SIM cards from Ukrainian drones. Thirty-three data brokers admitted selling Americans’ data to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, raising national security concerns.
Handala’s rhetoric includes threats against US officials and military contractors, while its claims about classified information remain unverified. The group’s propaganda-driven attacks highlight Iran’s cyber retaliation against perceived adversaries, including the FBI and US leadership.
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