The cybercriminal group ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for a major breach of the FBI, saying it stole terabytes of sensitive personal data belonging to nearly all of the agency's agents, their spouses, and individuals who had applied for jobs there. The group announced the alleged intrusion on its dark-web leak site on Tuesday, releasing what it described as a sample of the stolen material and a screenshot of a defaced FBI recruitment website.
According to the hackers, the compromised information includes names, home addresses, and phone numbers. The group stated it had «compromised the FBI» and held «very sensitive data on almost ALL FBI Agents and individuals who filed an application with the FBI.» The FBI has not confirmed the breach or the scale of the alleged theft. A spokesperson told the technology news outlet 404 Media that the bureau was «aware of claims regarding unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov and is currently investigating.» The agency's jobs website and special-agent applicant portal were temporarily unavailable on Tuesday.
ShinyHunters described the attack as «not financially motivated.» Instead, the group is demanding that the FBI remove a cybersecurity advisory published in May, which the hackers say contains false allegations about them. In that advisory, the FBI accused hackers associated with ShinyHunters of using threats, harassment, and in some instances swatting to target victims, while also warning that cybercriminals sometimes exaggerate the scale of data they have obtained. The group has not said what it plans to do with the purportedly stolen information if the FBI refuses its demand.
The alleged intrusion reportedly began with the compromise of an Oracle PeopleSoft server, which runs software commonly used by human resources departments. The hackers claimed they were then able to move into an Amazon-hosted government cloud environment containing FBI personnel and applicant data. Neither the FBI nor the companies involved have publicly confirmed that account. Reuters reported that it was able to find apparent matches for some individuals contained in a sample of the data, but could not establish that the information had actually been taken from FBI systems.
ShinyHunters is a prolific hacking and extortion group linked to large-scale data thefts targeting major companies and government organizations. The FBI itself warned about the group in May. The incident highlights ongoing concerns about the security of government cloud infrastructure and the vulnerability of human resources systems, which often hold sensitive personal information. The FBI's investigation is ongoing, and no further details have been released.