Iranian hackers destroyed 6TB of UAE government data in revenge attacks

Iranian state-sponsored Handala hacker group has reportedly compromised three major government agencies located in Dubai and destroyed over 6 terabytes of data stolen from their servers.

 

The cyber attack reportedly occurred on April 12 and involved the Handala group, describing itself as a hacktivist group, targeting the computer systems of Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority and gaining access to sensitive and classified government documents.

 

The cyber attack also compromised vast datasets related to the Dubai Courts Department and the Dubai Land Department. The Handala Group claimed that it extracted up to 149 terabytes of data from the agencies’ systems and destroyed 6 petabytes, or 6 million GB of protected data.

 

"In response to the blatant betrayal of the Resistance Axis by the Epsteinist leaders of the UAE, and as a serious, preemptive warning to all treacherous governments in the region, Handala has launched one of its most powerful cyberattacks against the country’s critical infrastructure," the hacker group said. "During this operation, 6 petabytes of data have been completely destroyed."

 

The cyber attack occurred at a time when US and Iranian representatives met in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad to negotiate an end to the ongoing conflict and to negotiate an end to Iran’s nuclear weapons development programme. The talks broke down within 24 hours and Iran cited Israel’s bombing campaign against Lebanon as a major ceasefire violation.

 

Despite a temporary ceasefire announced by Trump on April 8, Iranian forces continued to launch drone and missile attacks on sensitive oil and gas facilities across the Middle East. The Handala Group’s cyber attack appears to be a continuation of Iran’s revenge attacks against Middle Eastern powers perceived to be supporting the United States’ bombing campaign that began on February 28.

 

The cyber criminal group has launched multiple cyber attacks against US and Israeli entities in 2026. In March, the group targeted American medical equipment supplier Stryker and caused global disruption to the company’s Microsoft environment as well as to its order processing, manufacturing and shipping operations. 

 

"Stryker’s offices in 79 countries have been forced to shut down," Handala wrote in a post on microblogging platform X. "All the acquired data is now in the hands of the free people of the world, ready to be used for the true advancement of humanity and the exposure of injustice and corruption."

 

The hacker group also claimed responsibility for hacking into the personal Gmail account of FBI Director Kash Patel in March. The group published samples of data stolen from Patel’s device, including watermarked personal photos and email correspondence predating Patel’s tenure as FBI director.

 

The group also hacked Clalit, Israel’s largest state-owned non-profit healthcare organisation, in February and claimed that it stole the sensitive healthcare information of more than 10,000 patients. "You boast of possessing the most advanced technologies, yet now you helplessly witness the collapse of your security walls," the group wrote in a social media post, adding that the cyber attack had "delivered a devastating blow to the core of the Zionist regime’s healthcare system."