The Circuitry
THE CIRCUITRYYour one-stop source for all tech news
HOMETODAYNEWSFEEDEVENTS
BOOKMARKS
RSS
© 2026 The Circuitry
About UsSourcesContactCorrectionsPrivacy
  • Today
  • Feed
  • Events
  • Saved
Scroll for more
Verification
VERIFIEDConfidence: HIGH
Source identified
Claims cross-referenced
No discrepancies found
Fact-check summary

CBS News and multiple outlets (Times of Israel, New Arab, Straits Times) corroborate the Handala/SITE Intelligence Group claims of FBI drone access and World Cup threats reported today.

Sourcing
1source

via Decrypt

Decrypt · track record
31Stories
100%Verified
1130d
All sources →
Home/Tech/Iran-Linked Hackers Claim FBI Drone Breach, Threaten World Cup
VERIFIEDBy Xavier Rivera· ·2 min read

Iran-Linked Hackers Claim FBI Drone Breach, Threaten World Cup

Iran-linked group Handala claimed it breached FBI drones and accessed months of surveillance footage while threatening World Cup teams with potential FPV drone attacks. Researchers disputed some of the evidence, and the claims remain unverified amid ongoing U.S.-Iran tensions.

Source:Decrypt
Post
Iran-Linked Hackers Claim FBI Drone Breach, Threaten World Cup
TL;DRAI · 60 sec read

Iran-linked group Handala claims access to FBI drone surveillance footage including facial recognition data and threatens 2026 World Cup teams over disliked participants. Researchers dispute key evidence and the claims remain unverified. The activity occurs amid U.S.-Iran tensions and follows other Handala breaches like California Water Service.

An Iran-linked hacking group called Handala claimed it accessed surveillance footage from FBI-controlled drones and issued threats against teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Handala claims access to FBI drone data. The group said it obtained "every image and every suspect" captured by drones that include facial recognition and license plate scanning technology. According to a CBS News report cited by SITE Intelligence Group, the footage dates back months. Handala previously claimed responsibility for hacking FBI Director Kash Patel's email account in March.
The group added that first-person view drones are everywhere and "you never know when one might end up right in your team's bus."

Threats target World Cup participants. Handala warned teams participating in the tournament to "tighten your World Cup security" because it does not like some of those teams. The group added that first-person view drones are everywhere and "you never know when one might end up right in your team's bus." The threats were reported Friday by SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist organizations and online threat activity.
From The CircuitryThe Feed — live briefs across tech, all day.See what’s happening →
Researchers question some of the evidence. SITE disputed some material released by Handala. One video presented as proof of the breach was actually produced in December 2024 by a software company promoting technology used by a U.S. police department to survey tornado damage. The broader claims of accessing FBI drone data have not been independently verified.
One video presented as proof of the breach was actually produced in December 2024 by a software company promoting technology used by a U.S. police department to survey tornado damage.
Handala's ties to Iranian intelligence. The U.S. Department of Justice links Handala to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The group has been associated with data theft, wiper malware, and online influence campaigns that use leaked data, threats, and media attention to pressure and intimidate targets. Its latest actions come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran earlier this year.
Context of other recent Handala activity. More recently the group claimed responsibility for a breach of California Water Service and released roughly five gigabytes of allegedly stolen customer and internal company data. The announcement arrives as law enforcement agencies warn that scammers are targeting World Cup fans as the global soccer tournament gets underway across North America. The State Department's Rewards for Justice program continues to offer up to $10 million for information on foreign government-directed hackers involved in cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure.
Why this mattersAI · ~100 words

Tap a lens to see what this story means for you.

Reader-supported
DonateBuy me a coffee →Follow@thecircuitry_ →Follow@thecircuitry.to →

Reader-supported · Daily Brief

Daily brief at 7 AM ET. Top tech stories, every morning. Sourced and fact-checked.

HELP US IMPROVE
From The Circuitry

See what’s happening right now

The Feed runs all day — short, verified briefs the moment they break.

Open the Feed →
From The Circuitry

Follow @thecircuitry_

Every story we publish, as it happens. No noise between.

Follow on X ↗On Bluesky ↗

Reader-supported

The Circuitry is a passion project I've always wanted to build, and I love the work behind it.

Running it costs real money. APIs, hosting, time. To keep improving the site and growing this into something useful for everyone, those costs have to be covered.

Any contribution is appreciated. If not, no pressure. Thanks for reading.

Buy me a coffee
cybersecurityhackingFBI
More fromDecrypt
  • Robinhood Chain Launches as Ethereum L2 for Tokenized Stocks

    Markets · 4d
  • Robinhood Chain racks up $1B DEX volume in debut week

    Markets · 5d
  • Paradigm Closes $1.2 Billion Fund Aimed at Crypto, AI and Robotics Startups

    Markets · 7d
More inTech
  • China's CXMT Doubles IPO Target to $8.55 Billion

    Tech · 15m
  • CISA Adds KNX Protocol CVE-2023-4346 to KEV Catalog

    Tech · 4h
  • Report: OnePlus to Pull Out of US and Europe

    Tech · 4h
SupportThe Work

The Circuitry is reader-supported. If you find the daily brief useful, you can buy me a coffee to keep it going.

Buy a coffee →
SubscribeCircuitry Brief

Daily brief at 7 AM ET. Top tech stories, every morning.

MORE IN TECH

China's CXMT Doubles IPO Target to $8.55 Billion

ChangXin Memory Technologies expects to raise 57.9 billion yuan ($8.55 billion) in its Shanghai STAR Market IPO after doubling its original target. The world's fourth-largest DRAM chipmaker will list on July 27, advancing China's push for semiconductor self-reliance.

CISA Adds KNX Protocol CVE-2023-4346 to KEV Catalog

CISA added CVE-2023-4346 affecting KNX Association KNX Protocol Connection Authorization Option 1 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-07-15. Federal agencies must finish remediation by 2026-07-29. The overly restrictive account lockout mechanism could let attackers purge devices and set a BCU key when extra security options remain disabled, so organizations must apply vendor mitigations under BOD 26-04.

Report: OnePlus to Pull Out of US and Europe

Bloomberg reports that OnePlus will exit the U.S. and European smartphone markets as part of restructuring at owner Oppo, with the move possibly starting as soon as this week. The brand's earlier popularity has faded while Chinese suppliers face mounting pressure from memory chip costs and declining shipments in key regions.