The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating a breach of its jobs website, fbijobs.gov, by a hacking group known as ShinyHunters, which claims to have obtained sensitive data on thousands of FBI employees. The agency stated, "The FBI is aware of a cybercriminal enterprise group claiming a compromise of the fbijobs.gov portal and alleged impact to FBI employee personally identifiable information." The FBI is currently determining the point of breach and is working with third-party providers to mitigate any risks.
Several news outlets, including Reuters, reported that they have seen parts of the data, which ShinyHunters claims is part of a larger trove of two to three terabytes. This data reportedly includes detailed information about FBI officials' job assignments, including sensitive operations against foreign intelligence and drug cartels.
ShinyHunters announced on Tuesday that it had breached the FBI and stolen data on numerous current and former employees. The group stated it is holding the data hostage until the FBI retracts an unflattering statement made about them in May. On Wednesday, the group claimed it was attempting to prevent the personnel information from being widely disseminated.
In May, the FBI described ShinyHunters as "threat actors" who often harass victims and use claims of access to sensitive information to extort payments. The FBI noted that the group may falsely claim to have compromising information, including embarrassing photographs or videos that do not exist.
The FBI has been a frequent target of hacking attempts. In March, the agency revealed it was investigating suspicious activities on an internal system containing sensitive information related to surveillance operations. That same month, a pro-Iranian hacking group claimed to have hacked the account of FBI Director Kash Patel, posting online personal documents and photographs dating back over a decade. As of Wednesday afternoon, the jobs portal remained offline.