FBI Investigates Hackers' Claim of Stolen Agent Data

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating a cybersecurity incident that has taken its jobs portal, FBIjobs.gov, offline. The hacking group ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for the breach, alleging it has stolen the personal information of nearly all FBI agents and job applicants.

As of Wednesday morning, the FBIjobs.gov website was still not operational. The FBI confirmed it was aware of "unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov" and is investigating the matter.

A data sample shared with Reuters reportedly contained sensitive information including agents' names, home addresses, Social Security numbers, assignments, and in some cases, details about their family members.

ShinyHunters stated on its dark-web site that the targeting of the FBI was in retaliation for a May public service announcement from the bureau warning organizations about the group's tactics and advising against paying ransom or extortion demands. The FBI's announcement noted that threat actors often use claims of data access to prompt payment.

This is not the first high-profile incident linked to ShinyHunters. The group has previously been associated with alleged cyberattacks against entities such as Rockstar Games, the developer of "Grand Theft Auto," and the Canvas learning platform, which disrupted educational institutions nationwide. Earlier this month, Anthropic reported that hackers connected to the group attempted to misuse its AI tools.

ShinyHunters has reportedly been active since at least 2019, with claims of targeting numerous organizations including Microsoft, Pluto TV, AT&T, Ticketmaster, and several Ivy League universities.