Iranian hackers threaten to release treasure trove of White House emails
Months after distributing material stolen from President Donald Trump's campaign, the group of hackers informed Reuters that they had roughly 100 gigabytes of emails from accounts belonging to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan, Trump adviser Roger Stone, and adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The group, which goes by the name 'Robert,' did not disclose details of the emails to Reuters but said they were considering selling the materials.
The hacking disclosure arrived shortly after the Trump administration issued a warning to people about the potential for cyberattacks against critical infrastructure by Iranian state-sponsored or affiliated groups.
The White House and FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that it 'takes all threats against the president, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness' and that it was a 'top priority' to safeguard the administration's ability to execute the president's mission.
'Anyone associated with any kind of breach of national security will be fully investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,' Patel said in the statement.
In recent years, the U.S. has experienced similar cyberattacks from foreign-linked hacking groups.
Last year, Chinese-affiliated hackers tried to target data from Trump and Vice President JD Vance's phones while the 'Robert' group released a trove of emails obtained from the Trump campaign to reporters, including some from Stone.
'This so-called 'cyber attack' is nothing more than digital propaganda, and the targets are no coincidence,' Marci McCarthy, the director of public affairs for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said in a statement.
'This is a calculated smear campaign meant to damage President Trump and discredit honorable public servants who serve our country with distinction. These criminals will be found and they will be brought to justice. Let this be a warning to others, there will be no refuge, tolerance, or leniency for these actions,' McCarthy added.
Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have mounted recently after Trump ordered missile strikes on nuclear facilities in the country, raising the threat of cyber attacks.
Officials have also warned that groups supportive or affiliated with Tehran may seek to disrupt critical infrastructure systems, defense contractors, or other American companies with ties to Israel.
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