Iranian-linked hacker group claims to have hacked FBI drone

JAKARTA - A group of hackers linked to Iran claimed to have hacked an FBI drone and threatened to target the World Cup that starts this week, a monitoring group said on Friday.

SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that monitors extremist groups, published a statement from Handala saying they had had access "for months" to "every image and every suspect" captured by a first-person view (FPV) drone used by the FBI.

The hackers said the drone was equipped with facial recognition and number plate screening used for counter-terrorism.

"Better tighten your World Cup security, we don't like some of these teams at all. Don't forget: FPV is everywhere; you never know when one of them might end up right on your team bus," Handala said in a statement quoted by SITE, launching Al Arabiya from AFP (12/6).

The FBI deployed drones around the World Cup stadium to protect against unauthorized aircraft.

Drone flights will be prohibited over U.S. stadiums hosting matches, as well as over fan events related to the tournament that begins Thursday.

The Justice Department has previously warned of potential cyberattacks by Iranian actors after the US-Israeli attack on Tehran in February that triggered the Middle East War.

Handala published photos and footage it said were taken from a hacked drone, but SITE denied the claims.

One of the videos of the alleged hacking was actually produced by the software platform in December 2024 to promote the use of their technology by US police departments for surveying tornado damage, SITE said.

Handala claimed in March that he had hacked FBI Director Kash Patel's email account and published personal photos and other materials online.

The US State Department has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of the group's members.