An Iran-linked hacker group has claimed to have breached FBI drones, threatening to target the World Cup, according to a new report from a monitoring group.
Handala, a prominent pro-Palestine cyber threat group, alleged that it had hacked first-person view (FPV) drones used by the FBI, obtaining access to ‘every image and every suspect’ for months ahead of the World Cup, which kicked off on Thursday.
The SITE Intelligence Group, a private organization that monitors jihadist groups, published a statement from Handala which outlined its claims.
The hackers said the drones featured facial recognition and license plate screening deployed for counterterrorism, according to AFP.Â
‘Better tighten your World Cup security, we don’t like some of those teams at all. Don’t forget: FPVs are everywhere; you never know when one might end up right in your team’s bus,’ Handala said in the statement quoted by SITE.
Handala published alleged photos and footage that it said were taken from the hacked drones. However, SITE disputed that claim in its report.Â
The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, began on ThursdayÂ
The claim came just hours before the United States Men’s National Team begins its World Cup campaign against Paraguay on Friday with the US co-hosting the global soccer tournament with Canada and Mexico.Â
Such a breach would pose a major threat to the tournament as US authorities work tirelessly to safeguard the thousands of international fans arriving in the country for the biggest World Cup in history.Â
The FBI is deploying drones around host stadiums and tournament-related fan events in the US to protect games from unauthorized aircraft.Â
More to follow. Â
