Pro-Iran hacker group taunts US over bounty, urges focus on Epstein case

A pro-Iran hacker group known as Handala has issued a sarcastic statement responding to a US government bounty for information on its members, claiming it has grown stronger and urging Washington to focus on other cases instead.

Around 40 days ago, the US State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of members of cyber groups it alleges are linked to Iran, including “Parsian Afzar Rayan Barna” and Handala, News.Az reports, citing Fars News Agency.

In its latest statement, the group said it had not been weakened by the announcement and instead claimed it had become more powerful.

It also urged US authorities to shift their attention away from pursuing the group and instead investigate issues it referred to as the “Epstein paedophile network” and the “White House security failure”.

Handala further said its members were prepared to reveal their identities “with pride” and invited the FBI to contact the group via email to obtain their names.

News.Az