FBI Investigates Data Breach of Sensitive Agent Medical Records
Hackers claim to possess 'extremely sensitive medical data' for thousands of FBI special agents, including fitness-for-work examination results.
The FBI is investigating a reported data breach that allegedly includes "extremely sensitive medical data for thousands of its special agents," according to a report from BBC News.
This alleged hack reportedly contains results from "fitness for-work" medical examinations, including blood and urine test results. A BBC News reporter stated they were shown samples of the stolen data after hackers contacted them. The cybercriminal group ShinyHunters is identified as the entity that shared a list of approximately 5,000 alleged FBI officials with 404 Media, which first reported the incident. While ShinyHunters has not publicly released the full dataset, they have provided samples to journalists.
The FBI confirmed it is "aware of a cyber-criminal enterprise group claiming a compromise of the FBIJobs.gov portal and alleged impact to FBI employee personally identifiable information (PII)." In a statement, the agency said it is "actively and aggressively investigating this matter and working closely with those third-party providers that support FBIJobs.gov to mitigate any and all risk." The FBI noted that the point of breach, whether originating from a third party or the FBI's own systems, is still under investigation.
ShinyHunters has been previously flagged by the FBI for engaging in large-scale data breaches and extortion. An FBI public service announcement issued in May warned of the group's tactics, which can include harassment, threatening communications to victims and their families, and swatting incidents. The alert also noted that access to sensitive data can enable cybercriminals to sell stolen information to others.
According to Joseph Cox, co-founder of 404 Media, the motivation behind this alleged breach may not be purely financial. Cox suggested that ShinyHunters might be seeking to compel the FBI to correct statements made by the agency about the hacking group.
FBIJobs.gov has served as the primary platform for job applications to the FBI for agent and support positions since 2017. The agency is continuing to assess the full scope of the breach and the extent of compromised information.