The hackers allegedly accessed parts of Patel’s communications, sources told CNN.
Patel is nominated by Donald Trump to be FBI director in the incoming administration.
He is not alone among those close to Trump to be exposed to hacker attacks recently. Last month, the FBI informed Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s lawyers and a nominee for deputy attorney general, that his phone was being tapped by Chinese hackers, according to CNN. Trump’s lawyer Lindsey Halligan is also said to have been hacked, but by Iran.
The Chinese government has denied the accusations, as has Iran.
Not the first hacker attack against Trump
In August this year, Donald Trump’s election campaign was exposed to a hacker attack. The FBI later came out that it was Iran that was behind it.
“We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, particularly involving influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns,” said a joint statement by the FBI and other national security agencies.
Nominated former bomb threat
Last month, several bomb threats were made against nominees for the incoming government. It has involved bomb threats and so-called “swatting” – when a person falsely alerts the police that a serious crime is being committed in a residence, just because they want to see a large police force enter.